


A Knight in Golden Armor

by stunt_pilots



Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Everything Hurts and I'm Dying, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Someone gets punched, slowburn, stay tuned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-04-25 03:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14369646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stunt_pilots/pseuds/stunt_pilots
Summary: Fic of my own characters (mostly) in TS4 setting. It's about as dumb as this sounds.





	1. Cast of characters

**Author's Note:**

> It's so well-thought-out I even have an [album](https://imgur.com/a/mWhgm) with screenshots of characters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short character description since only like 5 appear in the actual game.

**Arden Talbert**  
Main character, POV  
Musician at _Limelight_  
\------------------  
**Wolfgang Munch**  
Current leader of _Knights of the Hedge_  
Wears dark blue armor with silver ornaments and plumes  
Personality: big bag of dicks  
\------------------  
**Delithraviel Mor-Krezah**  
Full-time bartender at _Limelight_ , part time secretary to Wolfgang  
Wears silver armor with dark blue ornaments and plumes  
Friend of Arden’s  
\------------------  
**Eldrogan Wagner**  
Spin doctor at “Insert a popular name here”  
Part time member of _Knights of the Hedge_  
Wears gold armor with green ornaments and plumes  
Probably gave Wolfgang a blowjob at some point but nobody can confirm or deny that  
\------------------  
**Yuki Behr**  
Currently unemployed graduate of local highschool  
Part time member of _Knights of the Hedge_  
Wears dark armor with red ornaments and plumes  
\------------------  
**Azura Vatore**  
Teenager and a vampire because life is never easy  
Friend and neighbour of Eldrogan’s and Caleb’s niece  
\------------------  
**Caleb Vatore**  
Friend and neighbour of Eldrogan’s and Azura’s uncle  
His thundercock isn’t part of the story  
\------------------  
**Cullen Van Helsing**  
Doesn’t have a personality  
Wears socks with sandals  
Local Florida Man  
\------------------  
**Jacques Villareal**  
Deceased former-leader of _Knights of the Hedge_  
Former local big bag of dicks  
\------------------  
**Riv**  
Arden’s neighbour and co-worker  
\------------------  
**Bernard and Mimsy**  
Ghosts haunting the _Von Haunt Estate_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, “Insert a popular name here” is literally the name of his blog.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it's dumb. The first sentence describes my view on this fic in general.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack for this chapter  
> AFI - I Am Trying Very Hard To Be Here  
> <https://youtu.be/mc57fAXKfic>

After all, it wasn’t supposed to be serious. Del was talking about her club, _Knights of the Hedge_ , where she “advised” the current leader, Wolfgang something. She mentioned how the club had fewer members after the death of the former leader, Jacques and that maybe, Arden would like to join them for a meeting sometime. 8PM, Saturday, Von Haunt Estate, costume will be provided. Costume? Arden felt he should have asked what she meant sooner. What would people, calling themselves _Knights of the Hedge_ , dress as? Surely not suits of armor.  
  
It was, in fact, suits of armor. The clanging reached his ears before he could see the entrance. Pulling into the driveway, he was greeted by the sight of four figures, all dressed in bulky, ornamented armor. When he stepped out of the car, Del was there with her helmet under her arm.  
  
“I thought you might wanna see a familiar face,” she said smiling and extending a hand.  
  
“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” he laughed, refusing help and getting out of the car on his own. It felt weird, wearing flannel among four people in full armor.  
  
“It is the way of us knights.” Turning his head, Arden found the speaker to be a tall man with a shock of blond hair. Wearing a helmet was likely the only way for him to appear intimidating. “I’m Wolfgang,” he introduced himself. From Del’s description, Arden expected him to look more like a leader and less like a spoiled teenager, which he turned out to be. Then again, Arden has never been part of any clubs, and couldn’t say he knew what club leadership needed to be like.  
  
Yuki Behr was a small, perky girl, wearing dark armor with red ornaments. It looked like it weighed more than she did. Arden decided immediately that he liked her, especially after she dropped her helmet in a hurry to shake his hand.  
  
The last person in the queue was wearing golden armor with green plumes, and introduced himself as--  
  
“My helmet’s stuck.”  
  
He was indeed struggling with his helmet. While Wolfgang was howling with laughter, Del moved to help him, but the effort appeared to be fruitless.  
  
“We’ve no time to lose,” Wolfgang announced suddenly, rubbing the tears of laughter from his eyes. “Give the new boy his armor and let’s go.”  
  
Del distanced herself from the struggling knight who has accepted his fate and presented Arden with a set of armor, silver, like hers, but lighter in color, adorned with purple ornaments and plumes.  
  
“Thanks,” he mumbled, not knowing where to start with it, but Del helped him with that, too.  
  
With her help, he managed to put it on and, leaving the shoes in his car, proceeded to walk to the entrance, where the rest of the club was waiting for them. Wolfgang had a scowl on his face, Yuki smiled when she saw them getting closer and the golden knight was standing with his hands on his hips, looking a bit threatening and, what Arden thought, like a true knight should have looked like.  
  
“Since we’re all here, let’s begin,” the leader announced and put on his helmet. The rest of the members copied him and they all entered the estate.  
  
Arden had heard stories of the estate and was excited at the prospect of hearing more about it from someone who might have had more knowledge. Everything inside of it looked brand new and all furniture was behind a fence.  
  
“This is the Von Haunt estate,” Wolfgang said, standing in the middle of the corridor. Arden was eager for him to elaborate after that, but he just added, “Don’t touch anything.”  
  
A flight of stairs to his left was leading to the second floor, but it was excluded from today’s tour, as well, which ended when they exited the estate shortly after.  
  
“Feel free to uh, play chess and wander the maze or whatever,” Wolfgang told them in a drowsy voice. “New boy, you can have the first match with Del.”  
  
That was all there is to it? Wandering the maze and playing chess?  
  
“Let’s go then,” Del said excitedly, clapping her hands which resounded with a metallic clang.  
  
Arden only had the basic knowledge of chess, and he’s never played it wearing _armor_. Del, however, seemed to be in her element. Wolfgang and Yuki both observed them for a while, then left to do their own things. Which relieved Arden, as he had several burning questions to ask Del and didn’t want anyone else to overhear.  
  
“Is it just me, or is Wolfgang--” he began, but Del promptly interrupted.  
  
“A big bag of dicks? Yeah.”  
  
“But it’s just a club, right? You could leave if you wanted?”  
  
“I have my own reasons for staying.”  
  
“O-kay,” it wasn’t enough to convince him and he was sure that whenever the next meeting took place, he wouldn’t be there. “And what’s the name of the--”  
  
“Golden boy? Eldrogan.”  
  
“And is this--all you do? Play chess and wander the maze?”  
  
“There’s sparring sometimes too. As in, with swords. But Eldrogan is the only one who knows how to actually do that, and he’s--” she raised her head and looked around, “nowhere to be found right now. We can ask him to show off later if you like. Now, give me some challenge.”  
  
Soon, Wolfgang showed up with Yuki at his side, wanting to take part in it too. Arden left his chair without complaint, as he felt he had enough of chess for that day, and he wanted to take a stroll in the maze anyway. Taking off his helmet, he entered it through the archway, inhaling a breath of fresh air.  
  
The whole Von Haunt estate was somewhat of a local legend and a personal favorite of Arden’s. He couldn’t forget it ever since that time they talked about it in class and found our everything he could about it, even learning the layout of the maze. With all his research, he missed the memo about the estate being a place of gathering for the _Knights_.  
  
His train of thought ended when he turned a corner and found he wasn’t the only one who decided to take this route. One of the knights was standing by a fountain. In the pale moonlight, he could just make out the golden shine of his armor.  
  
The clanging drew Eldrogan’s attention to the newcomer, and this was when his helmet finally decided to come off. He had red hair that reached his shoulders and was now stuck to his forehead with sweat. Unlike Arden, he wasn’t breathing heavily, which surprised him, as the armor weighed quite a lot.  
  
“Hello there,” the redhead said as soon as he saw him, and flashed a brilliant smile. “I’m--”  
  
“Eldrogan. I know. Del told me.”  
  
He felt foolish the moment he said it. It was rushed and seemed impolite. Also, he was still wheezing with exhaustion from the effort it took to come this far. Eldrogan didn’t seem to mind, however.  
  
“Oh, yes, Del knows everything about everyone here. At least this thing’s off now.”  
  
He was talking about his helmet, which he was now examining carefully.  
  
“Seems like glue,” he commented. “Must have been one of Wolfgang’s jokes.”  
  
“Wolfgang? The leader?”  
  
“Yes,” Eldrogan acknowledged, sadly. “He’s part of the _Renegades_ club as well, and they do crap like this all the time. I never expected it to show up here, though. Have you met the resident ghosts, yet?”  
  
“No, I was playing chess with Del earlier and then decided to take a walk. I know a lot about this place, though.”  
  
“I’d ask if you know more than our esteemed leader, but I know better than to do that.”  
  
“Why did he become a leader, if I may ask?”  
  
“He was friendly with the former leader Jacques, you should ask Del about it though, she knows much more than I do. I only became a member a couple of months ago.”  
  
“Do you like it here?”  
  
“Do I?” Eldrogan repeated incredulously as if he never expected to be asked that. “I suppose I do. Some things could be better, but it--not up to me to change them.” The last part sounded like he was thinking about them carefully and might not have been the truth.  
  
Observing him from a side, Arden thought that Eldrogan looked like the armor actually fit him, unlike the rest of the club, who appeared to be in a costume party. He was also moving with much more ease than anyone should have exhibited in a massive suit of armor. It didn’t even look weird when he took off one gauntlet and started using his phone.  
  
Arden realized he’d been staring at him for too long and turned his eyes away.  
  
“No wi-fi here,” must have been the least knight-like thing to say, and even that didn’t diminish the image he had in his mind. “Shall we go back? The sooner we start, the sooner we can be out of here.”  
  
He put his helmet back on and started walking in the opposite direction from where Arden came from. Was there a secret meaning behind this? Arden tried to recall the map of the maze and by looking at the stars and figuring out the current location, thought they were going to the orchard. It wasn’t near the exit, however. Was Eldrogan leading him away? Why would he want him there, in the orchard? Alone? Unless--  
  
Arden felt his cheeks growing hot. Even if he turned now, his face was masked by the moonlight and the helmet. He could have at least said something before--  
  
“Oh. We’re in the orchard.”  
  
The surprise in his voice caught Arden unaware. Eldrogan wasn’t leading him away for something quick and steamy. He was lost.  
  
“Looks like I can’t navigate the maze as well as I thought.”  
  
“How did you do it before?” Arden inquired, trying not to burst out laughing.  
  
“I had someone else with me. We might be waiting for a long time, though. Never thought I would be needing a rescue.”  
  
“I know the way out.”  
  
“How?” he turned on his heel so suddenly the jangling of his armor almost drowned out his voice.  
  
“I’ve memorized the paths.”  
  
A slight pause. Then--  
  
“You have?”  
  
Instead of answering, Arden started walking in the right direction. It wasn’t as easy as finding the exit by drawing lines on a paper, but he knew where to go. The weight of his armor and the fact that someone else was relying on him on this complicated things, but soon they saw the lights of the estate. He would have started running if he wasn’t so tired.  
  
“A-HA!” He heard Eldrogan exclaim behind him. “I knew you could do it!”  
  
“Oh. Thank you. It’s not a problem.” It was all he could do not to collapse before they even reached the stairs.  
  
Wolfgang was sitting cross-legged on the porch and appeared to be bored. Del and Yuki were still at the chess table, but neither seemed to be into it.  
  
“You’re here! Finally!” Wolfgang said rising from his sitting place. “We were just talking about adjourning this meeting and now, we can actually do it.”  
  
“We’re here now, don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Eldrogan said, taking off his helmet. “There’s so much love here,” he mumbled quietly enough for Arden to hear him. Wolfgang didn’t comment on the helmet shenanigans, but Arden didn’t expect him to.  
  
The walk back to his car seemed quieter than it was coming here since everyone was tired and had run out of conversation topics. Back in his car, Arden removed the armor and realized he didn’t know where to return it and went to find Del. She was sitting in her own car with Eldrogan in the passenger seat.  
  
“I--wanted to return the armor,” he began meekly.  
  
“Right. Give it here. Be back in a moment.”  
  
Throwing it over her elbow like it weighed barely anything, she went back towards the estate. Eldrogan watched her go for a while, then turned to Arden.  
  
“We’re going for drinks, want to join us?”  
  
“Uhh--”  
  
He knew he would have liked nothing more, but he needed sleep more than anything. And practice.  
  
“I can’t. Big concert tomorrow. Need to practice.”  
  
“Where do you work?”  
  
“I’m a musician. At _Limelight_.”  
  
“Oooohhhh.”  
  
Arden didn’t know if he was just faking interest, but it seemed genuine enough.  
  
He wasn’t sure what else to say. Eldrogan went back to his phone, and he lingered for a moment, thinking it’s a good time to leave, then, turning back to him, he asked,  
  
“Can I come around later? When you’re playing, of course.”  
  
“I don’t see why not. Del works there too.”  
  
“Right. Forgot about that. I just need to--make a note for myself.”  
  
He went back to fidgeting with his phone again.  
  
“Okay. See you later. I guess.”  
  
With social anxiety, talking to anyone he didn’t know was a challenge. He hoped he didn’t fuck up this one.  
  
Eldrogan turned to him again with a last smile and a wave. In the light of Del’s car, Arden noticed his eyes were a brilliant green color, like the plumes of his helmet.

 

~~~~~~~  
_About three things I was absolutely positive._

_First, Eldrogan wasn’t a vampire despite living in a neighborhood filled with them._

_Second, there was a part of me—and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be—that wanted to bang him._

_And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Ala and Zombie for beta reading and correcting mistakes.


	3. Chapter 3

“Lunch!” Riv yelled from the doorway with excitement as he kicked the door to the studio and exited like he won a contest or something.

That seemed too soon but Arden often lost his sense of time while playing music. Today he was strumming his guitar in preparation for a concert a few days from now. Everyone had breaks at different times so there wouldn’t be too many musicians missing in case something came up. He wasn’t hungry yet and opted to visit Del at her workplace.

Del had a small bar at _Limelight_ , which had a good view to the stage. That’s how they both met several years ago. He came to the bar for something light to drink and maybe share gossip and found a good friend instead. He also forgot his drink that day.

“How is it going?” he asked her back. He could always tell her from her signature braid and wide shoulders.

Del turned to him with a smile on her face, and answered instead, “We have guests.”

Shifting his gaze to the left, he was faced with a cascade of red hair whose owner turned in Arden’s direction and said, “Hi.”

If he wasn’t sitting down already he felt his legs wouldn’t hold him.

Quick, smile, you idiot, he thought to himself. Probably wasn’t the worst grimace Eldrogan was ever confronted with since he paid no mind to it and went back to writing something on his phone.

Del was looking at each of them in turn with an amused smile playing on her lips. Whatever she must have been thinking, she probably thought it wasn’t worth mentioning, then asked the taller of the two men,

“Whatcha writing? A review?”

“Sort of,” Eldrogan mumbled without raising his eyes.

“Oh? Are you a reviewer?” Arden inquired, trying not to sound too eager or choke on his cranberry juice, then something else came to mind. “Wait. You wouldn’t be the Eldrogan Wagner? Of “Insert a popular name here” blog?”

“That I am.”

He put his phone down on the bar and gave Arden another smile. He felt like the color of his face was starting to match his juice.

“That’s great! But I uhhh, I have to admit, I know about that blog but I’ve never actually read it.”

“That’s a refreshing turn of events. Most people I meet always tell me how they read it every day and comment on great articles we have and… there’s always something. I don’t even write that much, my job is mostly to make sure everyone else is writing, putting out fires, prevent the employees from starting new ones.”

“Usual peacemaker stuff,” Del commented. “You also want to have him nearby when you’re making a deal between two companies who have three ideas they agree on and fifty more they disagree about.”

“That was one time…”

“I remember you telling me about at least three.”

“Well, that other one--and yes, you’re right, maybe three. Anyway. I’m done with my review. A selfie for the blog?” he asked Del expectantly.

“Take one picture of me and I’ll break your phone with my bare hands before you can upload it.”

“Point taken,” he acknowledged in the same cheerful tone. “Maybe you want one?” he asked Arden.

“Uhhh.” Open your mouth! This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for! “Sure,” he added before Eldrogan could change his mind.

“Great!”

He looked genuinely happy at this and Arden just hoped his face wasn’t as hot as it felt. He was also suddenly aware of the fact their shoulders were touching and gripped the edge of his chair more tightly, afraid he might fall off. From the corner of his eye, it looked like Del was hiding a grin, but it might have been a trick of the light.

“Oh. Ohh this is great,” Eldrogan exclaimed, looking at his phone again and zooming in on the pictures, then laid it down on the bar so Del and Arden could take a look.

It looked… not terrible. At least, he looked not terrible. Eldrogan looked great.

“Very nice,” Del remarked. “One last drink?”

“More sparkling water,” Eldrogan requested, face once again buried in the phone. “You know I’m driving.”

“You can just wait for me to finish working.”

“Can’t. Lots of things to do for the club. Speaking of which--” he slipped his phone into the inner pocket of his faux leather jacket and zipped it. “How do you like the club?”

He was speaking with Arden. Which club? he thought for a moment. _Limelight_? Can’t be. Unless--yes. Of course. _Knights of the Hedge_.

“It’s--nice. I like the people. And the--um, maze.”

Eldrogan was looking at him patiently. He would know all about reviews that started nice and ended on a negative note. He can’t have been impressed with that.

“But I don’t like the leader.”

The reaction Arden expected was not the one he got. Eldrogan first raised an eyebrow, then had the weirdest possible conversation with Del.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Should we tell him?”

“Yes.”

“You tell him.”

“No, you tell him.”

“You’re the one who made a living from writing blogs.”

“I’m better at writing than talking.”

“You’re the one who wants to replace him.”

“You know this better than I do.”

Finding no counter-argument, Del rolled her eyes and, with arms crossed, she leaned down on the bar in front of Arden.

“You’re not the only one thinking that, actually.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, still not fully understanding anything that was happening.

“Well… we two had an idea. Which was mostly him,” she pointed at Eldrogan who was drinking his water and staring at the ceiling, “asking for my help. I’ve been in the club for a long time. Wolfgang isn’t the first bad leader that happened to it, but Jacques, who came before him, wasn’t exactly… great, either. I know this because I knew him personally and because I have access to all the records from those times.”

“It’s a club, right?” Arden asked them, putting his glass aside. “You can leave it if you don’t like it?”

“ _Knights of the Hedge_ ,” Eldrogan continued, “is a very old club with great traditions. Sure, we could leave it, but starting a new one wouldn’t be the same.”

“Don’t forget the awesome spot for hanging out,” Del added.

“Yes, that too. Sooo--it’s two of us, and we’d appreciate your help.”

How could he refuse that face?

Maybe he could visit the club once more. Explore the grounds. And other stuff.

“How can I help?”

“We--actually, we don’t have a solid plan yet, despite planning this for a while. Right now we’re just focusing on recruiting more people who’d be helpful, but letting in too many people at once can look suspicious. Especially so soon after Jacques passing away. Sends a bad message. I’m glad we’ve convinced you, at least.”

Hearing that from Eldrogan certainly improved his mood.

“What about that other girl? Yuki?” Arden inquired.

“We’re not sure,” Del answered him. “I can’t even tell if she’s friends with Wolfgang or not. She says she likes him but frankly, I think she just doesn’t care very much either way.”

“Her sister works here, though, doesn’t she? Candy?”

“Oh, yeah,” Del tapped a finger to her lips. “She’s on maternity leave.”

“Really? Since when?”

Del shrugged and mumbled, “Dunno.”

“We can also ask Azura. She’s my neighbour,” Eldrogan explained to Arden. “She’s also into all this nerd crap.”

“Would it be okay with her… condition?” The last word made Del’s lips contort like she was eating a lemon.

“We can ask her about that. In the worst case, we can just… try and move the meeting to a later time.”

Who was this Azura they were talking about? And what was her condition?

He caught glimpse of the clock on the wall and realized he should be getting back to work. He told them both that, and at that Eldrogan stood up and said, “I should be going too.”

“Well, _sure_ , leave me here alone,” Del lamented, mournfully. It was in jest but Arden knew she didn’t like chatting with unfamiliar people, of which _Limelight_ was always full of.

“I’ll text you the details of our next meeting when I get around to it. Now--a hug before I leave?”

He turned to Del with open arms, his phone already in hand.

“Touch me and punch you in the ribs.”

“Good point. Maybe one from you then?” he turned to Arden.

“Oh. Yes, sure.”

Don’t be such a chicken.

Was it whatever he was wearing, or was he really that muscular?

It only lasted a moment before Eldrogan let go and put one hand in his pocket before turning to Del.

“See, Del, this is how you make friends.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“See you both later.”

He waved at them both before disappearing into the crowd. Arden stood there for a few seconds before Del’s voice brought him back.

“You know you still have work today, right?”

“Yes… I do…”

He turned on his heel and went back to the studio, but he could swear Del was wearing a smirk before he looked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks ao3 for removing all my awesome formatting I had in google docs. Also a big thank you to Ala and Zombie for beta reading and correcting my mistakes. And Marta who told me to post this here. You can go do something productive now.


	4. Chapter 4

The weather was pleasantly chilly that night. The rainy season was about to come and another meeting of the _Knights_ was about to begin.

Once again, Arden was the last to arrive. Wolfgang seemed not to notice him as he was busy arguing with Yuki about something. Everyone else was already in full armor, except Del who had her helmet under one arm. After Wolfgang turned to them to acknowledge those who had come, she put it on and even though he couldn’t see her face through the visor, Arden could tell she was rather unenthusiastic.

“Right,” the leader said and clapped his hands, resulting in an ugly clang that made Arden flinch. Yuki joined the rest of the group with her shoulders drooping. “Del, I’m going to need your help.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll need you to help me with chess. I still remember how to play, but I might need some pointers, and you’re very good at it.”

“Sure,” she replied reluctantly and began walking towards the estate. The rest of them followed suit.

Which way to go? Arden wondered briefly. He only knew the layout on the maze and several interesting points, but not much else. Maybe he could explore today?

He looked to his right to ask Eldrogan what he was going to, but the tall knight in golden armor was already gone. Yuki looked like she had a little rain cloud over her head and didn’t want to talk to anyone. Exploring the maze it was.

He turned right at first and walked until he reached the orchard. The rays of the setting sun made the flowers look especially beautiful. He picked up a couple of apples from a nearby tree and went to look for a fountain to wash them in. Before he found one, however, something else caught his attention. Music. Someone was playing the piano. Were there any other music lovers in the club? He picked up the pace, his armor making uncomfortably loud sounds on the way, almost drowning out the melody.

The beautiful white piano caught his eye before anything else did. It was standing right by a pond, below a glass roof. Not a single living soul was around.

Was he allowed to play it? Neither Wolfgang nor Del mentioned anything about it. There was no protective fence around it like furniture in the rest of the house had. And someone else had played it just recently.

Arden tenderly put the apples on the fence surrounding the pond and sat down on the padded bench. Taking off the heavy gauntlets, his fingers ran over the keys and he played a simple jingle.

“Nobody has played that in a while.”

He turned his head sharply toward the voice but didn’t see anyone. Was he imagining things?

“Yoooou play beautifully.”

The voice was sad and sounded like the speaker was underwater. The truth was even less believable than that, however.

It was a ghost of a young woman. She was light blue and was looking expectantly at him. Just below her neck, inside of what used to be her body, was a small fire that flickered like a frightened bird.

“Thank you. Do you know whose it is?”

“It used to be mine.”

There was a note of jealousy in her voice that didn’t show on her face, but it wasn’t exactly easy to judge her face by any standards he knew of.

“Oh. I see. May I ask your name?”

“It’s Mimsy.”

He recalled it from one of the plaques. She used to be one of the owners of the Von Haunt estate.

“Would you like me to play something?” he asked tentatively.

“Oooohhhhhh yes!” she bubbled, and weirdly enough, her color changing to pink.

“Something in particular, perhaps?”

“Do you know any looooove songs?”

“‘Course I do.”

He didn’t even have to think about what to play. His fingers were already dancing over the keys. Mimsy was letting out all sorts of weird cooing sounds. When he switched to a slower melody, she came closer to him, almost looking over his shoulder. There was warmth radiating from her, and it felt rather pleasant until he thought about the fact there was a ghost standing right next to him.

“That was very beautiful. Thank yoooou,” she said when he was done. She was still very pink.

“It’s no problem.”

“I just wish… I could play more often.”

“Is there a reason you can’t?”

Other than, obviously, being dead.

“I’m afraid I’ll burn it down. Oh!”

With a loud clinking noise, she suddenly disappeared. It took Arden a second to realize the sound wasn’t made by her; someone was in the nearby bushes. More ghosts?

A loud noise and a disturbance in the bushes. Then--

“Crap.”

That was no ghost.

“Is someone there?”

Was it wise to even ask that? What was the most dangerous thing in the Von Haunt estate? Ghosts, who could set things on fire? Wolfgang?

“I thought I would catch some more music.”

The intruder emerged from the bushes and Arden caught a glint of golden armor.

“Mimsy’s gone,” Arden commented. Great job keeping a conversation going.

“Yeah. She doesn’t seem to like too much company. Or the sound of metal on metal.”

Eldrogan walked closer to him and was distracted by something else.

“Apples?”

He sat down on the fence around the pond (was it even wide enough to sit on?) and took off his helmet, then shook the hair from his face and gave Arden a quizzical look.

“I collected some from the orchard,” he explained. Was it not allowed?

Eldrogan scowled, and for a moment Arden was afraid of being accused of doing something bad, but he just said,

“They’re not washed, then.”

“… No.”

The golden knight assumed an expression that almost made Arden burst out laughing. He looked like unwashed fruit offended him deeply.

“I actually didn’t think you could play the piano,” he confessed. “I should have expected that, though. I was always impressed by people who could just, you know, see an instrument and know what to do with it, the way you seem to.”

Was this a compliment? It made him feel better either way.

“I take it you don’t play anything?”

“Mmmno. I have a guitar at home, but to be honest, I’ve picked it up, like, three times. Sometimes my friends play it when they come over.”

It was so easy to talk to him!

“Do you want me to play something?” Arden blurted out.

At least he stopped himself in time not to add ‘for you.’

“You would?”

Eldrogan looked pleasantly surprised at the offer but he gathered himself quickly.

“Sure.”

What would he like? Arden knew nothing of Eldrogan’s music taste. Maybe start with something classical?

His fingers touched the keys, he knew it, _he knew where to begin_ , then--

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” he ejaculated.

Several things happened at once.

Mimsy’s ghostly head popped out of the piano and he jumped back so hard he knocked over the bench. Something heavy fell into the water and Arden’s first thought was of apples, but of course, _it wasn’t apples_.

Eldrogan’s whole upper body was under water. Arden didn’t have time to check _how_ he looked down there and grabbing his hand, tried to pull him out. It proved more difficult than anticipated; he was heavy, and was wearing armor. After what seemed like eternity and a cracked rib, Eldrogan was sitting back on the fence, soaking wet, and Arden was bent double, trying to catch his breath.

“Mimsy--what the--what the hell was that?” the golden, soaking knight finally stammered and Arden caught a glimpse of her, turning bright yellow before disappearing.

Do something!! He thought wildly. What?

“We need to--get back,” he finally managed, still breathing heavily. “You’ll--get a cold.”

‘We need to get you out of that armor’ was there on the tip of his tongue as well, all too tempting.

“Yes… good idea.” It seemed like he wasn’t very aware of his surroundings. Arden tugged at his wrist (he didn’t fancy the idea of carrying him all the way back) and he moved, albeit reluctantly. As soon as he stood up, the weirdest sound escaped his mouth and when Arden turned to check, he explained, with a pained expression, “My jeans just got soaked too.”

There was no time to dawdle. After yanking his arm again, they both finally got going. This was not the romantic walk back his brain was painting just minutes before. Eldrogan was commenting on how cold or wet his different body parts felt and Arden was frantically searching his mind for the closest route back.

“Wait… I can’t go back like this. Can you hold his for me?”

Arden stopped and was given a golden helmet. With his hands free, the tall knight started unfastening his arm guards.

“T-this armor is c-cold. Let’s go. Would you mind holding this too?”

One by one, Arden was given most of his armor parts. He was surprisingly deft with unfastening all of them, considering it was dark, he was walking, his fingers must have been numb with cold, and getting the armor off was no easy task. He was almost finished with the breastplate by the time they reached the well-lit mansion.

“What the fuck just happened?” Del asked, standing up from the chess table, where she and Yuki were having a chess match.

“F-f-fell into the pond.”

“You need some towels.” Arden watched with wonder how her braid whipped around as she ran into the mansion before anyone else could squeeze in a word.

“What were you two doing?” Wolfgang inquired, narrowing his eyes.

“I was, um, playing the piano.”

“And you?” The leader asked Eldrogan. Arden wasn’t sure if he was mocking him or not. “Lying naked on it?”

“I wouldn’t d-d-do that,” Eldrogan said with as much dignity as he could muster, which was still impressive, considering the circumstances, then added under his breath, “not in p-public.”

“Huh. Shame, I find the idea of that very fappable.”

Yuki was the first to react to this by hitting Wolfgang on the back, but since both of them were wearing armor, it only resulted in some nasty clunking noises.

“What d-does that even--neverm-mind, I don’t want t-to know.”

Thankfully, Del returned soon, carrying some towels, and spared one cold glance at Wolfgang, who was now cackling unpleasantly. Yuki offered to take the armor from Arden’s hands that he didn’t realize he was holding.

Eldrogan thanked her, taking one towel and began drying his hair. He then threw his keys at her and said,

“I have a change of clothes in the t-trunk of my car, see if you can find them.”

“Gotcha. And you--” she pointed her finger at Arden, giving him the rest of the towels, “help him in the bathroom. I’ll be back shortly.”

Throwing one last unkind glare at Wolfgang and with another swish of her braid, she disappeared again. After Eldrogan cast off his armor to the ground, they both went inside, where he pointed to the bathroom. It was rather warm there and while admiring the layout, he was unprepared for the sight of Eldrogan’s shirtless torso as he was standing with his back turned. Letting out a small gasp he managed to turn it into a weird cough.

“You were saying something?”

“N-no.”

“Could you hand me another towel?”

With his hair almost dry, he started wiping off his shoulders. It was almost mesmerizing and Arden was glad he wasn’t expected to hold a conversation. And he got an answer to a question he had earlier and knew could never ask: did he only have freckles on his face? There were so many of them on his back, dancing before his eyes like little stars.

Impatient steps outside signified Del was coming back. It gave Arden enough time to compose himself again and wipe that stupid grin off his face.

“Your clothes.” Del laid them out on a sink and waited for Arden to leave before closing the door again. “What happened?” she turned to him then.

“He, uh, fell into water.”

“Yeah, I figured out as much. Before then?”

She had her arms crossed over her chest. Arden sighed.

“I was playing the piano. Mimsy showed up and we talked for a while. Then… I think he came around and Mimsy didn’t like that and disappeared. And… he sat down on that fence surrounding the pond.”

Del had her hand over her eyes like she was watching a really bad movie.

“And… Mimsy showed up again! Jumped right in front of me, inside of that piano!” he illustrated the movement with his arms. “Next thing I knew, I was yelling and jumping at the same time, and there was a splash of water. Then I ran to help him.”

A soft chuckle was escaping her then.

“You two idiots.”

“Hey! I think I did okay considering the circumstances.”

Eldrogan stepped out of the bath in new clothes and looked at them.

“What did I miss?”

“I was calling you an idiot.”

“I’m sure it will happen again. Now, I need to get back to my car. Meet me there when you can.”

“I suppose I’d better take care of the armor,” Del sighed.

Was he talking to both of them? Or just Del? Before he could ask her, however, she was already gone. Then something else caught his attention. In the bathroom Eldrogan just left, there were two apples by a sink. Did he bring them here? It wouldn’t have been easy--

Arden examined them - both were warm to the touch and had slight singe marks on them. Was it Mimsy who brought them, then? Why? Was it her way of apology?

He washed them both under running water and took with him. He could see Eldrogan’s car with the driver’s door still open. He must have been waiting for them. When Arden came closer, he was writing on his phone. His hair was still a little wet.

“I brought you something.”

Eldrogan raised his eyes and then noticed the apples.

“I washed them.”

“Are these--the same apples?”

“Yes. I think Mimsy brought them as--an apology.”

“Huh.”

He looked like he had more questions but he took one nevertheless and took a bite.

“Thanksh. Oh, before I forget. Good thing you’re here. I wanted to tell you something.”

He put his phone away and looked back at Arden.

“You don’t look very reassured.”

“Yeah. When people say things like ‘I want to talk about something,’ or ‘I need to tell you this,’ I tend to expect the worst. Maybe it’s just my social anxiety talking--”

“Oh. Oh no, that’s not at all what I intended. I’m sorry if it came out that way. I wanted to thank you. It was--an awkward position I found myself in and you came to help. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

He hoped it was dark enough to hide his blushing.

“Alright, Golden Boy, what’s up?” Del said after materializing right next to them.

“I wish you’d stop calling me that.”

“Okay, Soaking-Wet Knight.”

“Let’s go back to Golden Boy. I think it’s a good time to ask Azura if she wants to join the club. Tomorrow, around--” Eldrogan checked his phone, “--six.”

“Great. I’ll meet you at your house,” Del said.

“You should come too,” Eldrogan turned to Arden.

“Me? I don’t know her, though.”

“You’re a new member, you can tell her what it’s like from this perspective.”

“Yeah,” Del continued. “And it will also look shady if we come in there saying how there are three of us wanting to do this thing but only two could show up. Don’t be a stick in the mud.”

“Sure, I’ll come, but I don’t know where she--”

“I’ll give you a lift,” she waved her hand. “Because I’m awesome like that.”

“Great!” Eldrogan clapped his hands, looking genuinely happy. “Tomorrow, my place, 6PM.”

Pretend I wrote something witty for the last sentence kthxbai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Ala and Zombie for beta reading and correcting mistakes.
> 
> The word "fappable" is here for a reason. and yes, apples are another Twilight reference.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack for this chapter  
> Jason Mraz - You and I Both  
> <https://youtu.be/bHohrFpww7Q>

****“At least _you_ appreciate my car.”

“Really? I have something poking my butt for half the journey and that’s all you have to say about it?”

It wasn’t Del’s _car_ Arden appreciated, it was the things he would find in there. Today’s something was stuck in the car seat and was making him wring like an eel. When he finally fished it out, it turned out to be a bottle of men’s perfume.

“Where did you get this?” he asked, opening the bottle and taking a whiff. “Ughh. Definitely not mine.”

“Don’t remember. You can take it if you want.”

Both her small apartment and her car were filled with random items she ‘picked up somewhere.’ The good thing about it was she usually allowed you to keep it if you liked. The bad thing was that most likely, the items were stolen from somewhere. She promised Arden she’d never taken anything from his house, and he’s never known her to outright lie. Besides, she was a great companion for festivals when she would appear with plates of food she didn’t pay for and a few assorted trinkets. But stealing was bad, obviously. Someone else should have told her that.

“It smells terrible.” Yet even with the bottle removed from the chair, he felt like he was sitting with something sharp up his ass. “I could stand more to know about this Azura.”

“She’s Caleb’s niece.”

“ _Who’s Caleb_?”

“Right, you’ve never met them. They’re Eldrogan’s neighbors. And they’re not evil like most of their neighborhood.”

Arden would have used ‘dressed inappropriately’ instead of ‘evil’ to describe it, at least from what he’s seen so far.

“What do you mean by evil?”

“Wait, you--oh, of course. You have no clue why Forgotten Hollow looks like that? They’re vampires.”

“That… slipped my mind. So, Caleb and Azura are both vampires?”

“Everyone who lives here, except for Eldrogan, are vampires. You can ask _him_ why he chose this place.”

“Can you tell me a little more about them? I don’t want to be inconsiderate.”

Del sighed.

“I can’t believe I’m teaching someone to be appropriate. Just… be yourself. You’re great at making people like you without trying. Treat them like you would anyone else! Which is kind of exactly what they’re trying to do. Be _normal_.”

Being _normal_ didn’t exactly come easily to him. Before he could say anything else, she pulled up her car in the driveway of an old-looking house. It had a small garden right in front of it, and there was a lot of garlic growing around. There was even a garlic wreath, hanging by the front door and right next to it was--

“Ah, you’re here,” Eldrogan said, detaching himself from the wall, the colors of his outfit blending in with the house. “I’ve sent her a message we’ll be coming.” Nodding at them both, in turn, he then implored to follow him.

All three of them then walked to the house nearby, that looked as old as the first one. The only plant in front of it that didn’t look dead was a weirdly shaped tree with soft pink fruits growing on it and glowing bark that seemed _alive_ , for lack of a better word.

“Watch the steps.”

If not for Del’s warning, Arden would have missed then and faceplanted the porch but caught himself just in time. Eldrogan knocked on the door.

A moment passed, then a dark shadow appeared before the door, which when opened revealed a pale young man with dark brown hair and grey eyes. He smiled at the sight of the guests, revealing sharp canines.

“Ah! My two favorite humans,” he greeted Arden’s companions and turned to him. “I believe we have not been introduced yet. My name is Caleb, and I welcome you to my house.”

“Thanks. I’m Arden.”

Caleb’s handshake was much stronger than Arden anticipated from such a skinny person, but his eyes and smile were friendly and full of warmth.

“Azura’s waiting for you in the living room,” he continued, opening the doors wider and letting them all in. Arden caught a soft melody, coming from another room. He must have left his record player on. “Would you like something to drink?”

“The usual,” Eldrogan replied.

“Juice for me,” was Del’s answer. The vampire turned his eyes expectantly to Arden.

“Can you make Sour Punch? If not, I’ll take wine.”

“Excellent choice,” he commented, before disappearing and leaving a shadowy trail behind him.

“We used to work together before I was in _Limelight_ ,” Del said. “You better believe he can make that. Now come, we still have people to meet today.”

They all went in the direction of the room Arden previously heard music from. It didn’t come from a record player, as he thought, but from a tall willowy figure with a violin, swaying softly to the tune. The music stopped when she heard the footsteps and the figure turned to face them.

She was the strangest woman Arden has ever seen. Whereas Caleb could have passed as human as long as he kept his fangs hidden, Azura was so obviously _not human_. From dark blue hair was adorned with a band of black roses, to pointy ears and purple eyes, it would have been difficult to hide her nature, and she wasn’t trying.

Her smile revealed a mouthful of sharp, triangle teeth and yet, like her uncle, it seems she did her best to appear friendly.

“Please, do sit down,” she extended her hand in the direction of the arrangement of couches and tall chairswhateverthefuck. Like everything else in the house, they looked old but well preserved.

After they had seated themselves, Caleb appeared with the drinks and, after giving everyone their preferred beverages and another smile, disappeared again. Azura looked at each of them in turn.

“Remember when I talked about my club, _Knights of the Hedge_?” Eldrogan began. “Are you still interested in joining?”

“I might be. Not like I have many things to do around here.”

“We might need your help with something, too. The current leader, Wolfgang Munch, is not doing a very good job of running it. We’re working on… replacing him. It would come easier with the support of more people than we currently have.”

“Wolfgang? Don’t know him, but he sounds bad. You want me to suck him dry behind some dumpster? My mom actually knows how to erase someone’s memories, I could ask her to teach me, too--”

“No,” Eldrogan stated firmly.

“Not yet,” Del interrupted. “Replacing someone isn’t that easy and we would welcome your support.”

Azura pursed her lips at that, and then her eyes fell on Arden.

“You’re a new member, aren’t you? What do you think of the club?” she asked him.

Arden swallowed hard. It would have helped if the other two weren’t looking at him at the same time, too. He took a deep breath.

“I--like it. I admit, my first impression wasn’t very positive, and when Del offered to let me check out her club, I was certain I wouldn’t like it. But I did and--I uh, I like it.” Great speech, dumbass. He had to think of something else to say, quickly. “Also, there’s the maze.”

Azura’s eyebrows rose at this.

“And--I read a lot about it at school. I even memorized the layout and all that. Though the most fascinating thing, at least to me, other than the maze itself, was the piano. I noticed you are skilled with a violin, I take it you have some interest in music?”

Her eyes shone and a wry smile appeared on her lips.

“I do. Which instruments do you play?”

“Guitar, piano and a little bit of everything else. I work as a musician.”

“Ooooh, interesting.” She gave it a moment’s thought, then turned back to Eldrogan. “Sure. Why not. I’ll join. And I’ll happily part Wolfgang from a few pints of his blood anytime.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Eldrogan acknowledged. “But I’m happy to hear this. If you like, we can start our gatherings a bit later, or you can show up when it’s convenient for you.”

“Don’t worry about me, I had that little problem taken care of.”

“I wouldn’t call dying from overexposure to the sun a little problem,” Del mumbled. “But I like your attitude.”

“I’ll let you know about our next meeting,” Eldrogan standing up and putting his glass on a table.

“Can’t wait,” the girl chirped.

It was time to go. Azura escorted them all to the front door and waved when they were on the porch, closing the door. For the most dangerous teenager he’s met, Arden thought, she was rather nice.

“That went well,” Eldrogan commented, as they were walking towards his house, then stopped and turned to Arden to address him. “And thank you for the help.”

It was so unexpected Arden almost tripped over his own feet, but stopped himself just in time and straightened himself.

“I don’t think I did much,” he admitted.

“Nonsense! I don’t know if you noticed, but Azura always had-- _trouble_ connecting with people. And you two have found common ground.”

“And you didn’t yell in her face,” Del added, with her hands crossed. “That also happens.”

“Really? I thought she was nice.”

Del giggle-snorted and said,

“Arden, you’re a treasure and I’m glad you decided to spend your lunch break at the bar all those years ago.”

He felt his face grow red but the look Eldrogan gave him at that moment made his insides pleasantly warm. Or maybe it was the Sour Punch.

“Why don’t you two come over to my house for another drink?” Eldrogan offered. “Or you can watch some bad movies on my huge TV.”

“I’m sure I can watch some bad movies by myself,” Del replied, her hands crossed over her chest.

“I’ll cook.”

Her mouth did a little wave that meant she was making a hard decision.

“Fine. But if either of you--” she pointed a finger at each of them, “let anyone know how easily I’m compromised by your cooking--” her finger lingered over Eldrogan for a second longer, “even Azura won’t find anything good to say about it.”

“Duly noted,” Eldrogan said, suppressing a smile, and started walking towards his house again.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Arden laughed.

Dell sighed and shook her head.

“He’s a really good cook,” she whispered, in a defeated tone.

It felt like a dream, in a way. Just minutes ago, he met two vampires who were nothing like the vampires he expected to find and didn’t even embarrass himself. And now they were going to Eldrogan’s house! Del changed her mind about something! None of this seemed possible. At least, in a single day.

His first impression of the house was, _it’s so clean_. Perhaps Arden was too used to the mess in his own and Del’s apartments. Following Del to a room to the right, he noticed a wall full of photos, and Eldrogan was in all of them. Some also contained Del or Azura, and he spied Caleb in a couple of them too.

Del made herself comfortable on a couch and grabbed a controller from the table.

“Wanna play?” she offered.

“Not really.” He would have agreed, but his eye caught the guitar in the corner. As he was about to walk towards it, Eldrogan appeared in the room.

“Make yourselves at home,” he said with his hands on hips, and cast a glance at Del, lying on the couch and already in a video game. “I see Del’s already doing that. The bathroom is that way,” he told Arden, pointing a finger in the direction behind himself.

“Can I use the guitar?” Arden spat out, too fast to make it sound like a reasonable request.

“Sure,” Eldrogan agreed, not paying attention to the tone. “I’ll be making an omelet. Does that sound good?”

Arden nodded, and Del gave him a thumbs up. He disappeared back into the kitchen. Curious, Arden followed him, guitar already in hand. The kitchen was small and had a few more pictures on the walls.

“Friends of yours?” Arden asked, referring to the wall, and took a seat at the table.

“Hm? Yeah, mostly. Some are pictures I was taking for my blog.”

Either nobody had played this guitar for a while, or they didn’t know what to do with it. All the strings needed re-tuning before he could play it properly.

Halfway through, he realized Eldrogan was looking at him and raised his head.

“What are you doing?”

“These strings need adjusting.”

“I’ve seen it done, but never by ear. It’s… interesting.”

He returned to the task of cooking and Arden just hoped his ears weren’t too red.

Compliments by other people often felt undeserved, but this was… different. His heart was warmed as well as his face, if only it would stop showing so much.

The guitar was in order, but he didn’t feel like playing it yet.

“I’ve never been good with cooking,” he confessed. What a dumb subject! He should have just played something.

“Really?” Eldrogan laughed. Maybe it wasn’t a bad subject. “I remember always experimenting with ingredients as a kid. It’s how I learned there was a special--I don’t know, _order_ to them.” With his back still turned, he raised his hands and started waving them around, egg in one hand and knife in the other. “It’s like I see them, and I know what can happen with them if I make everything right.”

“Really? It’s a lot like I feel about music. Like each moment has a melody to it, and each person carries one with them, and I just want to try and--capture it.”

He stopped, realizing he has trailed off. Eldrogan was looking at him curiously.

“You sound different when you talk about music,” he commented.

“I-is that bad?”

“Bad? No, quite the opposite. You think about this a lot, don’t you? It’s obviously important to you.”

“It is,” Arden admitted.

“Would it be too much to ask for one now?”

“One what?”

“A song.”

“Oh--sure. Let me just--”

It didn’t take him very long to think of the right song to play. It wasn’t exactly a song for this moment, not in this situation, but he picked one that felt right. Singing would have been weird and the lyrics weren’t exactly appropriate, either.

As the song was about to end, he felt someone brush past his shoulder. It was Del, who now leaning against a wall with her arms crossed.

“Well, someone’s cooking food and someone else is playing music? It’s not even my birthday.”

“You’re welcome to join us,” Eldrogan offered, chuckling.

“You know I can’t cook for shit.”

“Or you’re lying to take advantage of my generous offers.”

“I’ve never known Del to lie,” Arden said, leaning on the guitar on his lap.

“See? We’re both simple people, living off pizza and whichever food vendors are selling that day.”

“That is a terrible habit.”

“Thanks, mom.”

Eldrogan shook his head at that and poured a yellowish liquid he’s been mixing into a skillet.

“Come on, Arden, let’s give him some space to do his magic,” Del said, gripping his shoulder. He propped the guitar against a wall and sat down on the couch in front of the TV. Del immediately resumed her previous position with both legs extended comfortably on it, and both occupied themselves with a corny show.

Eldrogan appeared a few minutes later with steaming plates on a tray. Giving one to each of them, he put the tray aside and sat down in the middle of the couch. Del raised her legs, making room for him, then put her legs on his knees. Eldrogan looked like he was used to such shenanigans and paid little mind to it.

“Come on, Arden, help me out,” Del called, and he tentatively put his legs on hers, completing the awkward tower.

“This is fine,” Eldrogan said and started eating.

The only sound they made for the next couple of minutes was the clinking of spoons on the plates. The terrible show they’ve been watching was about to end when Del exclaimed, “Oh crap! Forgot the drinks.”

Setting her plate aside, she removed herself from the pile of legs and went to the bar, where she began mixing drinks.

“Why are we even friends,” Eldrogan grumbled. Arden waited for him to ask to take his legs off too, but he didn’t say anything.

“Because I’m a pleasure to have around,” Del called, pouring a drink.

Nobody disagreed with that.

She came back with drinks and even took the plates away. Arden expected her to make more comments, but she probably wasn’t in the mood. Coming back, she sat down and inserted herself on a pile of legs again.

“What are we watching?” she asked.

“I think it’s… horror,” Edrogan replied, in a bored voice. Arden wasn’t paying attention to the film. It was dull enough to consider looking out of the window a more appropriate distraction. And the sights were certainly not the ones he was used to back home.

A lot of colorful strangers were, for lack of a better word, _zooming_ past the windows in mismatched clothing. A couple of them walked close enough to the house for Arden to notice how _unconventional_ their dressing habits seemed to be.

The legs under him moved and Arden realized he was being asked something.

“Mmm?” he asked, turning his head, realizing he might have looked stupid and getting his legs on the ground in the process. Now there was no discreet way to get them to their previous place on Eldrogan’s knees.

“I was asking if you’d like another drink,” Del said, with a small smile.

“Oh. Yeah. Sure. I was--looking outside the window.”

That much was obvious, but neither of them said anything, and Arden was glad. A lot of people said how he always talked too much or over explained himself.

“Something catch your eye?” Eldrogan asked.

 _Yeah, you_ , Arden would have answered, if he had enough confidence.

“I’m just--the people--outside your window. They’re dressed… really weird. People say that about me sometimes but I don’t think I dress _that_ weirdly. I mean, not as--as bad as these people.”

The next thing Eldrogan would say, surely,  would be about how Arden _talked too much_ , and he did, and he thought too much too, to be honest--

“Yeah, I noticed too. Like someone dunked them in a bucket of glue and rolled in a pile of clothing and then just dressed in whatever stuck to them.”

“Yeah, that’s a good description.”

“I do good descriptions for a living.”

Del was back with the drinks.

“Still only juice for yourself?” Eldrogan asked, eyeing her cup critically.

“You know I’m driving.”

“Or--you can stay.”

He said it casually like it wasn’t the greatest idea ever proposed and an angel chorus wasn’t descending from heavens to play a divine soundtrack.

“What are you proposing?”

Del’s lips twisted in a funny way that meant she was considering something.

“Stay here, for a sleepover. It’s boring. It’s so _boring_ when you only have two neighbours who don’t want to kill you and each time you go jogging after dark there’s a possibility some vampire might decide to feast on you,” Eldrogan waved around passionately with his arms.

“Get a dog, then,” Del laughed.

“I--I think I will eventually. I don’t have one now, though. I work too much to have any real free time and when I am free I am in club meetings or gym, where most people don’t want to eat me. At least, I don’t think so.”

“It’s not just my decision to make. Arden?”

Both pairs of eyes turned to him.

“Yeah. Sure. Work starts late tomorrow anyway.”

He was trying very hard not to sound like an eager schoolboy.

Del’s mouth did a little wave again.

“Fine. Anyone want this juice, then? I don’t drink cocktails.”

A few minutes later, they were sitting on the couch again, and the mood was definitely better. At least, it seemed like that. Arden was feeling chattier than usual, and with each drink, his tongue only got looser.

“Why do you live here, then?” he asked when he was finally confident enough to do it, “Where people want to… eat you?”

“Oh, right, you haven’t told him _that_ ,” Del said before Eldrogan could answer. “It’s a great story for parties. Especially when the guests start wondering what are all these pale faces doing right outside your windows.”

“They’re not--right outside my windows,” Eldrogan scoffed. “Only the doors.”

“See? Great story.”

“Anyway, I used to live in a shitty apartment in San Myshuno--”

“Some of us still have shitty apartments in San Myshuno,” Del interrupted, meaning herself and Arden.

“Yeah, well--I hated it. I liked meeting the people, and the food and--yeah, the people were great. Hated my apartment, though. And then I saw a great offer for _this house_ . It was… cheap. Should have probably tried to find out why. I _didn’t_ , and learned later, that this house had some… really weird attractions to local vampires. I can mostly ignore it, so long as I have all this garlic around and don’t actually open the door to anyone suspicious. And a lot of people are reluctant to even visit me, less now than in my shitty apartment in San Myshuno, even though I have more space for… activities now.”

Arden started laughing, and he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the story, maybe the alcohol (holy shit, how much did he drink already? He’d be taking his shirt off and doing other dumb stuff any minute now) was finally getting to his head, but all of it seemed funny.

Now came the part. The part where people he was talking to would feel uncomfortable and scold him for having all these emotions. Now--

“At least someone finds this funny,” Eldrogan commented. He didn’t sound angry, either.

“Yeah, living in a haunted house makes a great story,” Del added.

“It’s not haunted. And you get used to the smell of garlic after a while.”

Incredibly, neither of them has told Arden to shut up yet.

“I’m sorry, it just seemed--kind of funny,” he tried to explain himself, feeling hot in the face.

“It’s alright,” Eldrogan reassured him, and Arden’s slight embarrassment was replaced by a warm and pleasant feeling. “I kinda deserved that, I think.”

“How about some music?” Del suggested, lying on the couch like a pancake.

“My stereo is in another room.”

“I can play the guitar,” Arden suggested.

“That’s an even better idea,” Eldrogan said and Arden was glad he had to stand up and nobody could see how red in the face he was. He sat down with the guitar in his lap and made himself comfortable, then started playing.

It wasn’t any song he knew. It didn’t _sound_ like a song, but rather like all of today’s experiences in a melody. Playing made him happy. Being in this place right now, that made him happy too. He was trying to put at least some of this into the song.

“Beautiful,” Del mumbled, sleepily. Arden looked around. Eldrogan seemed to be sleeping with his head tilted back. Del noticed this too.

“I don’t even want to draw dicks on his face right now,” she sighed like she was making a sacrifice. “Wake up, sleeping beauty,” she said, kicking him in the legs.

“Wish I’d slept long enough to have a dream about you not being here,” he growled.

“You asked for me, you got the full package. “Let’s goooo.”

“Ugh. Fine.” He stood up, then looked back at Arden, still sitting on the couch, and added, “Actually you can just stay here. I’m sure Del won’t mind sleeping in the study room--oh, she’s already gone. Anyway. If you need anything, my bedroom’s on the right side of the stairs. I think that’s all. Unless you have any questions?

 _I like the way your lips move when you talk_ wasn’t a question, and it’s not like he could have said it anyway, so Arden simply shook his head.

“Okay, then Goodnight.”

Eldrogan turned to go, but Arden had one more thing to say.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For um,” he hasn’t actually thought of what he was going to say. “Accepting us.” Laughing at my stupid jokes, he almost added.

Eldrogan just shrugged.

“I like having people around. Perhaps I should get a dog like Del suggested. Anyway. I should sleep, I’m really tired. Don’t get freaked out if you do see pale faces in the windows.”

Even so, Arden couldn’t get the ridiculous fantasy out of his head about vampires who _would_ , by some unknown means, get into the house and leave the three of them to defend themselves. Surely, that would leave plenty of opportunities  to _bump into_ each other or save one another’s lives while Del planned out the attack and did all the work.

The thought kept him warm until he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Ala and Zombie for beta reading and correcting mistakes. I don't know they survived it back when it had a really bad ending that I hated writing. Turns out deleting it worked just fine to make it better.
> 
> Yes, Del is the kind of character who would survive a zombie apocalypse.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack for this chapter  
> Beach Day - Dracula's Daughter  
> <https://youtu.be/zmxLKn7ee-4>

****Del gave Arden another lift to the Von Haunt estate today again. Since they both lived close to each other and had similar work schedules, they decided it was the best thing to do. When they arrived, only Yuki was there, listening to music.

“Right,” Del said, clapping her hands. “We should probably wait for everyone  and introduce Azura properly.”

“Is that the usual way of doing things?” Arden asked.

“Uhh. Yeah. Also, Wolfgang hates change. And we’ve made some pretty big changes recently, let’s face it. Time to dress up.”

When they came out of the estate in their armor, two more cars were parked in the driveway. Eldrogan left one and went to the pair of them. He was already wearing his armor.

“I think I’m going to tell him about that. It was my idea, after all,” he said, walking to them.

“Hello to you too,” Del replied, snarkily.

“Oh. Right. Hello. Sorry, I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I’m worried.”

“There are no rules against adding new members, no?” Arden asked. “ _Is_ there something to worry about?”

“Wolfgang’s petty and might think we’re challenging his authority,” Del explained. “Which we are. Gotta give some credit.”

“Okay. I’m going,” Eldrogan sighed. “Don’t--” he held up a hand as Del and Arden tried to follow him. “--tail me, it will be worse.”

He stepped away, and Del muttered, under her breath, “I would have added, ‘Find, our wise leader,’ but I feel that might have pissed him off more.”

“Hey, Wolfgang.”

The pair of them just stood there, frozen, watching Eldrogan like he went into the belly of the beast.

“Yes, Hot Stuff?” Wolfgang asked, his eyebrow raised.

“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth,” Del commented.

“Don’t--call me that. I--invited someone else to the club. You might remember her from school, actually.”

“I don’t go to school anymore, remember?”

“I know.”

“Eldrogan sounds like me when I’m trying to do a presentation,” Arden said.

“Maybe you do remember her, she’s kind of, hard to miss--”

“Is she hot?”

“W-what?”

“Azura. Is she hot?”

“Iiiiiiiiiii--um.” Eldrogan scratched his head and looked to the left. “She’s coming. You can ask her that yourself.”

“I don’t see a car.”

Just then, a black shadow passed in the distance and soon, Azura was standing before Wolfgang herself.

“Hello,” she said.

“Oh, it’s--you.” Wolfgang sounded pleased. “You’re a vampire then.”

“I am.”

“It’s good, I’m not vampirephobic.”

“Azura, this is Wolfgang, our--leader,” Eldrogan said and resumed chewing on his bottom lip. He was handling it rather well, all things considered.

Wolfgang’s stare was making Arden uncomfortable. He knew that anyone looking at _him_ like that would be enough cause to worry, but Eldrogan and Azura were holding their ground.

“I always wanted to know,” Wolfgang was still talking. Unbelievable. “What it’s like, being a lady vampire?”

“Is that--a bad question to ask a vampire?” Arden looked at Del. He sometimes had trouble knowing out which questions _humans_ found offensive.

“If it sounds rude to you, it’s likely bad to them too,” she replied.

Azura smirked unpleasantly.

“Oh, dunno, really. Guess I’d say,” with each word, her smile was getting wider, showing more pointed teeth. “Maybe I feel bloated more often with all the blood of the people that tell me to _smile_.”

To Arden’s delight, Wolfgang seemed to have shrunk now. His conversation partners then took off and met up with Arden and Del at the stairs.

“That went well,” she said dryly.

“No! It didn’t.” Eldrogan was fumbling with his hands, looking nervous. He must have been trying to hide all that before. “I’m pretty sure Wolfgang hates us now and he’s afraid of Azura.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare him _that_ badly,” the girl apologized.

“No, no, you did fine, he was way out of line.”

“Good thing it was you two with him,” Del said, “if it was me, I might have punched him a time or two. Or three.”

“Perhaps I should have done that instead.”

He looked somewhat angry. Arden didn’t want to say anything in case he could make it worse.

“What’s our plan now, then?” Del asked, after a minute of silence. “We can’t just sit here all evening, freezing our butts off on these marble steps.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Eldrogan sounded better when he said that. “We should--” he looked around and scratched the back of this head, thinking. “Azura, I’m sorry, but I think you might need to--stay out of sight for a while. I’m going to try and make sure Wolfgang doesn’t break anything or suspend the club or throw us all out.”

“Ooohh, I want to come with you,” Del jumped from her step. “I want to be there when one of us punches him.”

“What should I do?” Arden asked.

“You can teach me to play the piano!”

Everyone turned to Azura, who looked excited.

“You said there’s one, right? And you can play it? Could you teach me too?”

“I-I suppose I could.”

This was unexpected but somewhat pleasant.

Azura gave him a wide smile. Eldrogan scratched his chin and said,

“Yes, that’s actually a good idea.”

“Let’s go, Golden Boy, we have a war to win!” Del shouted, already at the mansion.

Eldrogan sighed, lowered his visor and followed her.

Arden realized he was standing on the stairs with Azura.

“Where do we start?” the girl asked.

“We--um. Need to get your armor, I think.”

He started walking towards the estate, trying to remember what was explained to him when _he_ was new. He looked around, but Yuki was nowhere in sight.

“Oh, shit,” he slapped his forehead. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember the history of all this. I feel like I should make an introduction.”

“It’s alright. I remember most of it from school.”

“Yeah. I learned it too, it was just--such a long time ago, now that I think of it.”

There was a set of armor set aside, and Azura took a couple of minutes in the bathroom getting ready.

“How do I look?” she asked, and Arden turned around.

“It fits you. Might be a bit heavy at first.”

“Really? Doesn’t feel that bad to me. Must be my vampire strength.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. You ready to go?”

She nodded and started following him again. He _had_ to say something.

“Do you want to take the path through the maze?”

“Ooohhh. Yes, I think so. Am I scaring you?”

The question took him by surprise.

“No, I’m just naturally bad at talking to anyone.”

She smiled.

“Me too, actually. A lot of people are scared of people like me. Vampires, that is.”

“I was worried about something else.” They both entered the maze and Arden started following the pattern he remembered. “I haven’t had any reason to remember piano basics in a while.”

“How did you learn to play it?”

“My parents made me. They wanted me to learn to play _something_ and felt a piano was good for that. I _hated_ it. Later I learned to play the guitar by myself, and I enjoyed it much more.”

“You do play the piano at work, right?”

“I do. I learned to like it. I’d like to learn the violin eventually too.”

“Where are we going?”

“Alllll the way there,” he pointed his finger where the piano should be. “At the end of this garden, by the pond.”

“Yeah, Eldrogan mentioned it. The one where he fell in?”

“Yeah. That--happened.”

Azura laughed.

“That’s all you’re going to say on the subject?”

“I don’t know what else there is to say about it.”

“Really? Because when Eldrogan told me this story, you seemed to do more than standing around allowing everything to _happen_ around you.”

“I suppose I kind of-- _helped_.”

Azura didn’t ask him any more questions about it and he took the moment to appreciate the fact that wow! Eldrogan talked about him with someone! And didn’t make Arden sound bad! The happiness was short lived as he still didn’t remember any useful advice for starting to play the piano.

“Can you tell me about the ghosts?” Azura asked.

“What do you want to know?”

“Are they bad ghosts? I don’t remember ever meeting any. Our neighborhood has different kind of undead. Are there many of them where you live?”

“None that I’ve seen. And--I don’t think they’re bad. They’re a bit… mischievous. But Mimsy can be sweet, too. Why do you live with your uncle, if I may ask?”

The question, awkward as it felt, has been on his mind ever since he met her.

“Mom felt the house, with my sister on the way, and me, and uncle, and his friend living there… She moved in with someone else who just started living in town. It’s not like she’s living far away now, we still see each other often.”

The’ve reached the end of the maze.

“It’s very pretty!” Azura exclaimed and ran to where the white piano was standing under a glass roof.

The place _was_ kind of pretty, Arden thought now. He approached Azura, who was already sitting down, prepared to learn. She looked at Arden eagerly as he leaned against the fence, first making sure it wasn’t _water_ behind him.

“The first thing to learn is um, the keys have names. All keyboards start with A and go to G. after that, another sequence starts. And you, um, can tell which key it is by looking at the black ones, like this…”

There was bound to be something he forgot to explain, but he seemed to be doing well, and, at the very least, could answer all of Azura’s questions. He also made a mental note to read a manual about piano for beginners.

“Your hands are too tense,” he warned. “You need to relax a little. And holding your fingers like _that_ is just criminal. Here, let me show you.”

Before he could, however the rustling of leaves, clanging of metal and raised voices drew their attention back to the maze. Wolfgang emerged from there, looking a little out of breath.

“Oh. here you are. You’re… playing the piano.”

“Is that not allowed?” Azura asked.

“No, we just, generally, play chess. You _do_ know how to do that, right?”

“Yes. I play chess very well, as a matter of fact.”

Before Wolfgang could reply, Eldrogan appeared behind him. His visor was raised and there were leaves sticking out of his armor. It looked like Wolfgang threw him into a bush at some point.

“Oh. Well. Maybe I can challenge you sometime.”

“Wolfgang, just leave them alone,” Eldrogan said, picking out the branches from his armor.

“I was just checking how my club was doing. I can do _that_ without your supervision, right?”

Eldrogan just sighed.

“We’re doing fine,” Azura said, turning back to the piano again. “You can go back to the chess club now.”

“I-I will,” Wolfgang said, sounding a bit defeated. “But we are going to have that match soon.”

He took off in the direction of the estate, choosing the straight path this time.

“How are you doing?” Azura asked Eldrogan, who was still picking out stuff from his armor.

“We’re doing fine,” he said sarcastically, “if you ignore the fact I’m babysitting an adult who can’t talk to anyone without insulting them. Other than that, it’s peachy.”

“Do you need any help?”

“Not really, having Del is enough. Oh. Crap.” He slapped his forehead. “I just realized I left Wolfgang alone with Del. I should go.”

Arden chuckled. The whole situation was a bit ridiculous.

Azura sighed.

“Looks like Eldrogan won’t have very big shoes to fill. I’m pretty sure we could replace Wolfgang with a talking llama and it would do a better job than him.”

“You attended the same school, did you not?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know his name, though. He wasn’t a very nice person back then, either.”

Arden found himself looking at the estate for a couple of seconds before Azura’s playing drew him back into reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Zombie and Ala for beta reading and correcting my dumb mistakes. Azura's comment borrowed from this [comic](http://neilaglet.tumblr.com/post/163173356386) by Lee Gatlin. Also, I have no idea how to play the piano myself, I only watched like one video on youtube about it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack for this chapter  
> Two Steps from Hell - Star Sky  
> <https://youtu.be/pICAha0nsb0>
> 
> Finishing this chapter on Valentine's Day was the only achievement I'm proud of this year so far.

**** Del was in a good mood because she managed to snatch an expensive book at work.

“You don’t like cooking,” Arden remarked when she bragged about this.

“Doesn’t stop me from having books about cooking, does it?” she replied.

He has no answer to that.

Both of them were early to the meeting because the queue by the food stand wasn’t as long as they were used to. However, when they arrived, Del’s car wasn’t the only one there.

“Ooooookay, what is Eldrogan doing here?” she said, getting out of her car. Arden’s heart did a little jump.

They both went into the estate to change into their armor, without seeing anyone else on the way, not even the ghosts. After stepping out of the bathroom with his armor equipped, Arden noticed a person standing on the front porch.

“That’s him, I think,” he heard Del say behind him.

She was right. Eldrogan was standing on the porch with his arms crossed, looking into the distance.

“You’re here early,” Del remarked.

“I know. I--” he turned on his heel and looked at them both with a quizzical look. “I wanted to make sure Wolfgang hasn’t set any booby-traps.”

Arden snorted.

“You worry too much,” Del scoffed.

“I happen to worry the perfect amount for someone in my situation.”

“Someone’s coming,” Arden noticed.

A car stopped right by the steps, and Yuki stepped out of it. She said goodbye to the person in it and approached the trio.

“Hey guys.”

“Hi,” Arden smiled at her.

“I’m going to play chess, anyone wanna join me?”

“In a bit,” Del replied, and added, after Yuki walked away, “when we’re done standing here dramatically.”

“You don’t have to stand here with me,” Eldrogan said, looking more relaxed.

“And leave you the only one with a dramatic entrance? Not in this lifetime, Golden Boy.”

Another car appeared before long.

“I’m pretty sure there are two people in it,” Eldrogan reported, squinting.

Wolfgang was the first to leave the car and waited for his companion, who was a bland, ramen-haired man with a punchable face.

“Hello, everyone,” Wolfgang began, in his most annoying voice. “This is Cullen.”

“Cullen Van Helsing,” the man introduced himself. He had a generic voice half of unimportant DA:O NPCs had. “And you are?”

He extended his hand to Eldrogan.

“I’m Eldrogan,” he said, not bothering to shake it. “So, what do you like?”

The newcomer probably decided it was enough introductions for that day.

“Oh, haha, I like--you know, trolling. On the internet. And pranking people.”

“Do you like chess, then?”

“Not really. Why?”

“Because it’s mostly what we do around here?”

“Oh, I see. Man, this place blows.”

Eldrogan’s lips were a thin line.

“I think I need a moment alone,” he said, in a voice that sounded like he was about to shout at someone, and left in the direction of the maze.

“Well, cry all you fuckin’ want, your tears don’t mean shit to me,” Cullen yelled after him. “Your tears mean dick to me, just so you know.”

“I don’t think he was crying,” Del said, after a pause when no one else said anything.

“It looked like he was.”

“Cullen! Come here~” Wolfgang shouted from inside the estate, and Cullen finally disappeared.

“Should someone go after Eldrogan?” Arden suggested. “He looked--distraught.”

“Nah, he’ll be fine. I’m more worried about how we’re going to tell Azura that everything bad that could have happened, just happened.”

They didn’t have to wait long. Azura arrived shortly after, trailing a dark shadow behind her.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, smiling. “Did I miss anything?”

“Good to see you’re here, Azura,” Del began. “Let me get you up to speed: we’re in the shit.”

Azura simply nodded.

“Wolfgang invited his… friend here too. I don’t think he likes us, or chess, or personal hygiene.”

“That sounds… bad. What does Eldrogan think of this? Where is he?”

“Probably trying to drown himself, for real this time.” Del coughed. “I’m sorry. That was mean.” She turned to Arden. “You were right, you  _ should _ probably look for him. I’d go but I’ll just make him angrier and Azura still has to wipe the floor with Wolfgang in a chess match.”

This  _ should _ have been the situation Arden was hoping for. A chance for him to find Eldrogan and do something nice for him, but the situation was bleak. Both Azura and Del looked like somebody had died. It was time for Arden to be a brave knight.

Eldrogan wasn’t as difficult to find as he feared. The orchard was the first place Arden checked, because it was the closest, and there he was, sitting by the pond, his gauntlets, and helmet on the ground, reading something on the phone. Arden took a deep breath and came closer.

“Can I sit down here?”

Eldrogan raised his eyes for a moment, nodded, and went back to reading again. Before Arden could come up with anything uplifting to say, he spoke,

“Cullen’s name sounded familiar, so I decided to look him up. Turns out I wrote about him, a couple of years back.”

He handed Arden his phone, with an article open.

“‘Windenburg man runs naked through the streets during a festival,’” he read out loud. “That’s not so bad.”

“Keep reading.”

“‘Windenburg man claims his cat used the telescope to spy on the neighbors.’ Oh. ‘Windenburg man spends 1000 Simoleons in a bar, sets fire to a trashcan, attempts to punch everyone in the face.’ What? Did all these things really happen?”

“Yes,” Eldrogan grumbled, putting his phone into his pocket, and crossing his arms on his knees, lowered his head.

This looked bad, but Arden still wasn’t sure what to say to cheer him up, so he waited.

“This is pointless. How can I expect to be taken seriously by people I want to lead if my competition is the likes of Cullen? I don’t--I don’t even know what to do at this point.”

“Usually when I don’t know what to do, I ask people I trust about it.”

Eldrogan raised his head at that, and asked, “Okay, then. What would  _ you _ do in my situation?”

“I think that it’s important to consider the opinions of other people, not just your own. And for you, personally, don’t be so hard on yourself. Whatever challenges are going to happen, you already have at least three people who treat you like a leader.”

This was stupid. He’d said too much without thinking. Preparing himself for the inevitable negative reply, instead, he got:

“Perhaps you’re right.”

“And what about Yuki?”

_ That _ he has given a lot of thought.

“We’ve spoken a few times. She invited me here, but I don’t know her very well.”

“Maybe you should get to know her. Whatever her opinion on the future of the club is, you should ask her about it.  At least, it’s what a leader should do. I think.” He added the last part hastily, hoping he hasn’t overstepped his bounds.

“Yeah. I should.”

That was it. No comment about how Arden has surely said too much and how it made no sense. He allowed himself to breathe easier until he turned his head and realized Eldrogan still looked as unhappy as he did before, if deeper in thought. Whatever he had on his mind, it wasn’t nice. Arden wanted to cheer him up, but he hardly knew anything about his interests. Except one, that might not even have been that good, but he had to try something.

“Del mentioned you like sparring.”

“I do. I didn’t think anyone would be interested, though.”

“I am. Could you teach me?”

“I--think so,” he said slowly like he was expecting Arden to say it was a joke any second. “Wait here.”

The golden knight stood up and left through the gate in the direction of the estate. Arden tried to remember what he’d said, in case something was inappropriate, but his thoughts were a mess and he was pretty sure the armor made his heartbeat so loud it could be heard from the other side of the estate.

Eldrogan was back shortly, carrying two swords. He gave one to Arden and, putting on his helmet, started speaking faster than usual.

“Keep your feet at the same width as your shoulders. Bend your knees a little to keep your balance better. Now raise your sword like this,” he showed, “and try to deflect my blows.”

The hardest part turned out to be holding his arms raised. It wasn’t bad at first, but his muscles grew more tired the longer he was holding the sword (which was also heavier than he anticipated), and he had to do all this while wearing heavy armor.

Finally, as he felt he could no longer hold on, he raised his hand and said,

“I think that’s enough.”

Arden dropped his sword on the ground, and, now sure of what else to do, decided to lie down on the ground himself and closed his eyes.

This was nice. Would it be okay if he spent the next day lying here too?

Sounds to his left indicated that Eldrogan had done the same, albeit with more grace than the sack of potatoes that Arden must have sounded like.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he opened his eyes. Darkness has fallen and stars were visible. Turning his head to one side, he realized one of the constellations was directly above them.

“It’s Cygnus,” he said.

“What’s Cygnus?”

“The Swan constellation.”

“You know the names of the constellations?”

“Yeah. Why?”

Eldrogan started laughing. It was a pleasant sound that made Arden all warm inside. Different warm than his recent workout.

“You’re such a nerd. You know that?”

“I’ve never been accused of that before.”

“You probably forgot to tell other people that you knew how to navigate a maze by memory too.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone-- _ both _ of these things.”

He laughed again. Arden was glad he had managed to make him happy, even if there was exercise involved.

Maybe he could spend more time like this, both of them lying on the ground together. It seemed that only minutes have passed before Eldrogan stood up and announced, “We should probably get back.”

Arden tried to get up, but all his muscles that were sore before felt like molten lead.

“I--can’t,” he said meekly.

Eldrogan chuckled and asked, “Need some help?”

“Yeah.”

He raised his arm and Eldrogan pulled, and Arden could feel the ground under his feet again. He flashed Arden a smile that almost made his knees weak again. It felt like Arden had more trouble standing upright than Eldrogan had to lift him.

The journey back wasn’t very exciting, and he tried not to breathe too heavily. He should do at least that without any help. When they came back, only the girls were gathered around one of the chess tables. Del and Azura both sat on the opposite sides of it, and Yuki was watching them.

“Where’s our illustrious leader?” Eldrogan asked, looking around.

“He and Cullen both had a very urgent meeting they had to attend,” Del explained, in a bored voice. “Though from what I heard, the meeting was with each other. As in, a date. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out they just wanted to be out of here.”

“Oh. Sorry for running off like that before.”

“It’s fine,” Azura assured him. I don’t think it’s such an uncommon reaction to seeing Cullen under any circumstances.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have done it.”

“It’s okay, really,” Del cut in. “You’re allowed to have feelings. Besides, it’s not as bad as what I did, which was insult him several times without him realizing. It even got boring in the end, because it looked like I was trying to have a conversation.”

Eldrogan thought for a moment, then he turned to the third girl in the group.

“Yuki, do you have a moment? I wanted to ask you something. And I need to bring these swords back.”

“Yeah. Sure.” She jumped from the windowsill she was sitting on and followed him into the estate.

Arden realized that both Azura and Del were watching him.

“Whatever you did, looks like he’s not dead,” Del said, leaning back in her chair.

“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Azura commented.

“Sorry. Anyway, you must have done something.”

“I didn’t--really do anything. I just--said a couple of things.”

“And it looks like they were the  _ right _ things.”

“How did your match with Wolfgang go?” he asked Azura.

“As well as you’d expect. I won, then I won again when he wanted a rematch. Then he wanted another rematch, so I won again.”

“Pretty sure that’s why they wanted to be gone so fast,” Del said. “Aaaanyway, no use sitting around here. I think we should go home, it’s pretty late.”

When Arden left the estate a couple of minutes later, free of his armor and showered, Del’s wasn’t the only car left. Eldrogan was still sitting in his, legs sticking out. As Arden approached, he left the car and waved at him to come closer.

“Yes?” Arden asked, thinking he might have fucked up somewhere.

“I’ve been thinking, and--I realized I need to thank you.”

“W-what for?”

Nice job stumbling over your own words, dumbass.

“You want a list? I can give you a list,” Eldrogan smiled. “First, it’s that time you fished me out of the pond. Not my greatest moment, I know. Second, when you agreed to help us by asking Azura to join. I’m fairly sure she wouldn’t have done it if you haven’t been there. And today--”

He stopped and looked into the distance.

“I tried to come up with just one thing to say, but there isn’t. It’s just--” he wrinkled his nose in a funny way, “ _ all _ of today. You really did help me a lot. Thank you. If there’s any way I can return the favor, just tell me.”

Nothing that was appropriate to ask in such situation.

“I-I don’t really know at this moment.”

“Okay. If you do come up with something, let me know.”

He smiled widely and spread his arms. Arden realized it was going to be a hug.

Despite everything that could have gone wrong, he  _ didn’t _ fuck this up. Eldrogan smelled nice and Arden’s knees didn’t fail him this time, either. For a brief moment, life was great.

Then they were both standing apart again. Arden lowered his eyes and shoveled the gravel with his foot.

“You should--probably go,” Eldrogan said and bit his lip. “Or Del will drive off without you.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah. See you later.”

Arden waved at him, before walking away.

Del was reading the book she stole earlier, propped against the wheel. She closed it without a word when Arden put on his seatbelt.

“You’re--you’re not going to say anything?” he asked, tentatively.

“Say what? Am I really that bad that people expect me to make a rude comment about everything? Holy Dave, I’m turning into my father.” She took a deep breath. “No, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’m sure I can come up with something on the spot if you really want it.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Really? Because I already have several prepared.”

“Let’s just go home,” he laughed.

“Great idea.”

And if she noticed that Arden was silent for the whole ride, she didn’t say anything about it either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a big thank you to Ala and Zombie for beta reading and fixing my mistakes.  
> Cullen was named after a Dragon Age character by the same name. Titles about him were taken from genuine Florida Man articles.  
> If Arden had suggested "going out for drinks" as a favor, next chapter would have been the last but of course, I love suffering.


	8. Chapter 8

“We’re going to be late!”

“Yeah, sucks balls,” Del replied without any conviction in her voice.

“I have a feeling you don’t want to be there for some reason,” Arden said, accusingly.

“Oh. Right. Forgot to mention. After Azura’s victory over Wolfgang, he asked  _ me _ to teach him to play chess better. I should feel good that he’s trying to improve, but mostly, I don’t. I can think of a few places where I’d rather be, like a crowded public toilet.”

“You can just drop me off then, I’ll just tell them you couldn’t make it.”

“Too late to back out now. Besides, my father may have raised me emotionally unstable and socially clueless, but he didn’t raise me a quitter.”

After they finally reached the estate, they both changed into their armor and came out on the other side. Everyone else had already gathered. Azura was sitting at one of the chess tables with Yuki, talking about something. Eldrogan and Wolfgang were both at the other table, and the golden knight had his head on top of it like he was tired.

“Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to come,” Del mumbled, but Wolfgang might not have heard the last bit. He jumped from his chair and clapped his hands.

“Finally, we can begin!”

Eldrogan rose from his chair and in a cheerful voice said, “Del! So glad you’re here.”

“You sure you’re not saying that just because I agreed to spend time with Wolfgang?”

“I most definitely am not.”

“Mm-hm.”

“You don’t trust a face like that?”

The golden knight made a face that made Arden laugh. Clapping his hand over his mouth to avoid laughing out loud, he heard Del mumble,

“Just go away before I punch your trustworthy face again.”

“Yeah, let’s go, Arden, there aren’t any chess tables left for us here.”

“Go where?”

“There’s another one, over there,” he pointed his thumb in the general direction behind him.

Before they could go, however, Cullen slid off the windowsill he was sitting on with a clang that made Arden flinch, and raised his hand.

“Wait! One thing, while you’re here.”

“Yeah?” Eldrogan asked, his brows knitted together.

“I think I’m getting used to my armor.” He struck several poses that did not cast him in any better light. “How do I look?”

“You look really hot,” Eldrogan replied sourly.

“I do?” he asked, sounding excited.

“Yeah, you’re really sweaty.”

Then he turned around and started walking in the direction he pointed at previously, probably trying to get rid of Cullen as soon as possible. Arden followed him and caught him up after a bit of running.

“I was afraid Cullen was going to follow us,” he confessed, filling the silence that was threatening to become awkward after a few moments.

“Yeah, me too,” Eldrogan laughed, and slowed down a little.

“When did Del punch you?”

“It was a while ago. We weren’t friends back then. It’s a… long story.”

“How did you two meet?”

“Here, in the club. We didn’t like each other back then.”

They must have reached the part Eldrogan meant before. Behind several dining tables, surrounded by fancy chairs, there was a chess table, like he said.

The place felt a bit secluded, compared to everything else he’d seen. The small patio was surrounded by bushes.

“I haven’t been in this place before,” Arden said, looking around. “Ooohh, a grill.”

“There’s all sorts of stuff in the maze if you know where to look. You hungry?”

Arden’s face must have betrayed him.

“A little bit. Didn’t even think of it before I… saw the grill.”

“I can make some hot dogs, if you like,” Eldrogan offered. “Are you a vegetarian?”

“Oh! That’s very kind of you, thank you. And no.”

“Eh,” he shrugged. “I just like cooking.”

‘I like eating,’ Arden almost blurted out. Everyone likes eating, dumbass. And at least it provided him with a decent opportunity to discreetly check out the golden knight’s butt.

“All done,” he announced, and a set a plate of deliciously smelling hot dogs before Arden.

Arden didn’t need any encouragement and dug in. Eldrogan sat down on a chair before him and took out his phone.

“Thatsh great,” he mumbled, with a mouth full of food. “You’re not eating?”

“Not hungry,” Eldrogan answered distractedly, and then his phone rang. “I’m sorry, this is important. “Yeah?” he answered, then laughed. “I  _ am _ at my ‘dumb club.’ Did you want something?”

With a twinge of guilt, Arden realized he was feeling slightly jealous of the person he was talking to. It wasn’t like him to feel this way.

“No, Penny, of course I remember. Don’t worry, I’ll get it done. Yeah, like I said, don’t worry about it. I have to go now.”

He put his phone down and tapped his fingers on the table impatiently.

“Sorry, that was from work,” he explained.

“Work? Sounded like something… different,” Arden mumbled awkwardly, trying to hide the relief.

“Different how? Oh, you mean--no,” Eldrogan laughed, scratching the back of his head. “I’m not--seeing anyone right now. Shall we play chess now?”

Arden agreed. They both sat down at the chess table and started to play.

“I haven’t had--the best luck with that,” Eldrogan continued, and Arden tried to keep the expression of mild interest, and not ask too much. “Last time I liked someone, it was my neighbour, when I still lived in San Myshuno.”

“That… doesn’t sound bad.”

“He has a wife.”

“Oh. Was that the real reason you wanted to move?”

“It was-- _ one _ of them. I didn’t lie, I really did hate my apartment. Everything was breaking down constantly and eventually, I got tired of fixing stuff.”

He sighed and looked more relaxed. Arden was trying to focus on his chess, with difficulty. Talking seemed more interesting, but it was difficult to do when all he wanted to do was ask him a hundred of questions, like, ‘Does this mean you’re not looking for any kind of relationship right now?’

“What about you?” Eldrogan asked, and Arden stared at him, confused. “Any embarrassing secrets you’re willing to share?”

“Nothing that isn’t obvious.”

“I don’t think I know what’s  _ obvious _ .”

Arden took a deep breath.

“It’s the way I talk to people.”

There it goes. All the reasons he couldn’t keep friends for long.

“Sometimes I talk too much, or too loudly, or I lose the track of the conversation or--or start laughing at inappropriate moments. I have trouble with being in crowds, and--and sometimes I get tense when I’m talking to someone and I get the feeling I’m boring them, but I can’t just ask that outright--”

Eldrogan’s phone rang again and he dismissed the call after glancing at it.

“Was that important?”

“Probably not,” the golden knight shrugged. “You were saying?”

“Oh. Yeah. Del knows about this and she--understands this, at least a little bit. Sometimes I ask her about what’s-- _ appropriate _ . She’s not the best at that either, though, and sometimes we end up like one blind person leading another. I’m sorry, that must sound incredibly stupid to you.”

“It’s not.”

Arden looked up. Eldrogan was looking at him with a serious expression, and he didn’t look  _ bored _ , or like he wanted to get away as soon as possible.

“Oh. Sorry. Now I’m apologizing too much, aren’t I? It’s not easy to talk about.”

“I understand. Let me know how I can help, okay?”

He smiled encouragingly, and Arden didn’t know what else to do, and looked down at the hands in his lap like they held an answer.

The evening felt more cheerful, after that, even if they didn’t talk much. They played a couple of rounds of chess until a voice behind him made him jump.

“Well, what do you know, you  _ are _ actually playing chess.”

Turning around, Arden saw both Del and Wolfgang, who was now checking out his nails.

“Why?” Eldrogan asked, annoyed. “What did you expect us to do?”

“Ooooh, food.” He grabbed one of the hot dogs from the next table and turned back to them. “Dunno, maybe play the piano for one another--” Del punched him in the shoulder, cutting off the rest of the sentence. “Anyway. I came here to tell you we’re ending the meeting early. I’m going to Humor and Hijinks and I’m letting you off early, too--”

“Oh, CRAP.” That was Eldrogan. After the exclamation, he dug out the phone from his pocket and started searching for something, frantically. “Shit. Sorry. Gotta go. I have to be there.”

He stood up and left them before anyone could interrupt him.

“Yeah. I probably should go too. Have a lot of people to prank,” Wolfgang said, and took off in the same direction.

Arden wanted to go too, of course, but if Del wouldn’t take him, he might miss most of it.

“Should we go too?” he suggested, trying not to sound too desperate.

“Yeah. Sure.”

He could have kissed her at that moment but knew it would only annoy her, and mostly he just tried very hard not to show too much excitement, so she wouldn’t get suspicious. He liked festivals, but not enough to actually jump in the air a couple of times, like he almost did now.

As soon as they arrived, Del said something about “getting food,” and disappeared into the crowd. It didn’t take Arden a lot of time to find the reason he wanted to be here. Eldrogan was sitting at one of the tables, writing something on the phone. Before Arden could approach him, he thought how it might have looked bad, and resorted to standing rooted to the spot, before Del came back and asked, “Have you found a place for us to sit?”

“Uh.”

“Oh! Eldrogan is here. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

Arden didn’t know, and couldn’t ask if she was doing this on purpose, but it was helpful, even if she didn’t know how much. He sat down next to them and looked down at his plate. Del had managed to get two plates of Tajine for both of them.

“Oh!” Eldrogan exclaimed, raising his head. “You’re both here too. Great. I need some pictures for my article.”

He stood up and started adjusting his phone camera.

“I  _ literally _ just sat down,” Del grunted, throwing her hands in the air. “And don’t even think about getting my picture.”

“Okay, I won’t. Arden, can you help me out?”

Arden was up before he even asked that.

Posing for a picture was easier than thinking of something to say to hold a conversation.

“Awesome. Thank you,” Eldrogan said, looking at the picture, while Arden sat down to eat. “I’m going to talk to some more people before the festival ends.”

Del’s plate was already empty and she was sitting with her chin on her hands, looking into the distance. Before Arden could ask her if everything was fine, she said,

“I’m tired. I think I’m gonna go home and sleep.”

“Do you need me to accompany you?”

“What? No, it’s not  _ that  _ bad.”

“Even if it was, you wouldn’t allow me to do it.”

She chuckled and sighed, her shoulder slumping from exhaustion.

“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”

Arden watched Del walk away, then turned his head to the microphone, where some guy, glowing yellow, was telling jokes. He saw both Cullen and Wolfgang in the crowd and briefly thought about joining whichever side didn’t include them. A lot of people around him were joking with each other.

“I think that went well,” Eldrogan said, dropping into his chair and looked around himself. “Where’s Del?”

“Went home. I think she was tired.”

“That’s not such a bad idea, actually,” he yawned and put his phone in his pocket. “How come you’re not joining the celebration?”

Arden shrugged.

“Didn’t feel like it. I feel like I’m out of jokes for tonight.”

Eldrogan laughed and stretched his arms.

“I should probably call a cab, I’m too tired to drive home myself.”

The words escaped Arden’s mouth before he could think about them.

“My apartment’s nearby.”

“Oh?”

Arden kicked himself in the shin.

“That… doesn’t sound too bad. And I wouldn’t need to get back here tomorrow to get my car. Sure, let’s go.”

“Oh. You mean right now.”

“Yeah, unless you want to carry me to your apartment.” He smiled.

Arden stood up, legs feeling a bit shaky, and started walking home. His spirits were still high from being at the festival, and spending time among people who were enjoying themselves.

“Could you carry me?” Arden said before he could think about it. “Not right now, of course, just in general.”

“What?” Eldrogan laughed. “I think so. I’ve never carried anyone before though.”

That was lucky. His random quips rarely received positive replies. And seriously, ‘Could you carry me,’ what was he thinking?

They spent the rest of the trip to Arden’s apartment in relative silence. He tried desperately to remember if he’d left any unwashed dishes on the counter, or dirty clothes on the floor. He wasn’t prepared for any guests, and Del was used to the mess. Luckily, a quick first glance around the room as he opened the door was enough to know that no clothes were lying there, and he breathed a sigh of relief until he noticed a pile of empty plates in the kitchen. Everything else seemed to be mostly in order.

Eldrogan sat down on the couch and looked around himself.

“This is nice.” It probably wasn’t, but it was kind of him to say that. “You have a piano?”

It was in another room, behind a half closed door.

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit.”

He made himself comfortable, while Arden was doing his best to block the view of the mess in the kitchen.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked.

“Mm? Yeah, I should be. Oh, one thing before you go. I usually wake up early. Do you mind if I make breakfast? I don’t think I’ll have much to do otherwise.”

“Oh, no, not at all. Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks. I think I will. Right now. G’night.”

His guest stretched himself on the couch, and Arden felt awkward standing around longer than necessary. The dishes would have to wait until tomorrow.

He went into his bedroom, and sitting down on the bed, sighed in relief. Today hadn’t been a disaster after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Ala and Zombie for correcting my mistakes and beta reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Arden woke up early the next day, unsure at first why he felt excited, but the events of the last night came to his mind soon enough and after that, he couldn’t keep his eyes closed for long. He wondered briefly if Eldrogan had already left, but the voices he heard from the other room told him otherwise.

One voice, actually. Eldrogan was arguing with someone on the phone, judging from the one-sided conversation Arden could make out through the wall. Normally, he would have liked nothing more than to stay in bed for a couple of more hours, but curiosity got the better of him. Getting out of bed, he dressed in his current best clean clothes then checked the mirror three times, making sure he didn’t put anything on backwards, and stepped out of his bedroom. Eldrogan was very much awake, sitting on the couch. Before Arden could go to him, however, a pleasant smell drew him to the kitchen, where a plate of eggs and toast was sitting on a counter. He wasn’t hungry yet and instead switched on the coffeemaker.

“I know I told you _that_ ,” Eldrogan was saying on the phone. “And I will. I just need more time, it’s still early.”

His voice was growing frustrated.

“Yeah, I know. I know I know I know I know. Have you tried writing something this long on the phone? It’s torture. Ugh. Fine.”

With another sigh, he hung up and put his phone away.

“Oh! Morning,” he greeted Arden. “I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“No.” Something was missing, and he couldn’t figure out what. “… Did you clean the dishes?”

“Yeah! I did.”

“You didn’t have to, I was going--to do it later.”

“Don’t worry about it, I kinda like cleaning. I made breakfast, too.”

He was tapping his fingers on the couch impatiently. Was the phonecall the source of his distress? Before Arden could ask, Eldrogan jumped and started pacing around.

“Look,” he said nervously, “I hate to ask more of you than you’ve already done for me, but could I possibly use your computer? I need to write this article, and I need it yesterday.”

“Sure. No problem.”

“Thank you so much.”

He sighed with relief and it seemed for a moment that he might give Arden a hug, but instead, he just went to the computer and turned it on. A small ring from the kitchen announced that the coffee was ready; Arden took a cup for himself and after a moment of thought, a second one.

Going back into the living room, he gave the other cup to Eldrogan and, sitting down on the couch, started observing him. His guest seemed less nervous than he was before, but still twitchy like a bird, unsure of which branch he should hop on.

“Is everything alright?” Arden asked. It was probably a bad idea to talk to a writer in the middle of something, but Eldrogan wasn’t _writing_ , he just looked at the monitor like it held the answers to the universe, or at least, the first sentence of his article.

“Mm? Yeah, I always work like that.”

“You look like you might use a day off.”

“And what would I do?” he laughed. “I don’t know how to _relax_.”

“What do you usually do on weekends?”

“There’s always something to fix or upgrade around the house. Or--I cook. Or work out. What about you? No, wait, let me guess, you play music.”

“I do. Or paint.”

“Paint?” Eldrogan turned back and looked at him like Arden had used an unfamiliar word. “You also _paint_.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Nothing. I just--realized how boring my life is,” he turned back to the computer and scratched his chin.

“I’m sure it’s not,” Arden chuckled and looked around for something he could use. “Would it help if I played some music? I know something that might help you concentrate.”

He put the empty cup on the coffee table and grabbed his guitar. He didn’t need to think much about what to play, the music came to him without effort.

The noise of typing stopped and Arden put down his guitar. Eldrogan was no longer writing and instead looked at the computer screen with furrowed brow, reading. Arden waited for him to finish.

“This is as good as it gets,” Eldrogan sighed and stretched on the chair, then stood up. “I should probably go now, I’ve bothered you long enough.”

“You’re not bothering me.”

Eldrogan smiled at him and prepared to leave, and Arden couldn’t find a good enough reason for him to stay.

“What will you do now?” he asked instead.

“Get my car first, then hit the gym. Then go home and take a very long bath. Anyway, thank you for everything. You’ve saved my life today.”

He extended one arm, and this time Arden was faster at recognizing a hug, and it went better than he expected.

Now he’s over-analyzing hugs, that was great.

“I’ll find some way to repay the favor soon, I promise,” Eldrogan said, opening the door.

Arden waved his arm dismissively.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Not gonna happen. I worry about everything. Alright, then. Goodbye.”

He winked, then turned around and was gone. Arden closed the door after him a little too loudly. He was certainly unprepared for _winking_.

\-----------------

Del wasn’t at work that day, and asking around, Arden learned she had called in sick. The workday passed slowly and the only highlight was Riv telling him about his ventures into gaming. After it was over, instead of coming home, Arden decided to visit Del and see how she was doing.

He went to one of the food stands and got two chicken burritos, then took an elevator to her apartment. After knocking on the door, he waited.

The door opened half a minute later and Del poked her head out. She really did look sick.

“Hey, Del. Can y--”

“Not today, piss shit,” she replied and slammed the door in his face.

That was unlike her. And what was it she called him? Piss shit? Arden decided to knock again to ask her what she meant, but before he could do that, the door opened again.

“I--that was rude, sorry,” she apologized. “I just wanted to say ‘piss shit.’ What’s up.”

“You weren’t at work today, so I decided to check how you were doing. I brought food.”

“Oh, well, then come in.”

She opened the door wider and went deeper into her apartment. Putting the food on the coffee table, he joined her on the couch, where they watched the TV and talked about nothing in particular. A question burned in Arden’s mind, and he wasn’t sure if Del was the right person to ask. Probably. She didn’t mind questions.

“Hey, Del, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Can I ask you about relationships?”

Del choked on her burrito. When she finally cleared her throat, she said, “No.”

Disappointing, Arden thought, but not unexpected.

“Sorry. I want to help, but you know me, it’s one of maybe three things I don’t know anything about. Any advice I give might ruin your-- _prospects_ , and I wouldn’t want that.” She looked around and pointed at her desk. “You’re better off asking my Future Cube about it.”

“Future Cube?”

“Won it at the Geekcon. _This one_ , at least. Not sure where my other cube is.”

_That_ could be interesting. Arden got off the couch and shook it hesitantly, focusing on Love Life.

“Oh!” he exclaimed. “I got _warm predictions of--everlasting love_.” He blushed, reading the last words.

“See? That’s better than I could have said it.”

They hung out a while longer after that, but Arden was getting tired; it was time to go home.

Del came to him as he was preparing to leave.

“I do have one advice, I guess,” she said, with a serious face, holding her future cube. “Don’t wait too long.”

“How so?”

“Whatever-- _whoever_ it is, I’m sure you wouldn’t--hmm, I’m sorry,” she cleared her throat, “I’m not used to talking about this. I’m sure you wouldn’t--ugh, this is difficult. Give me a second.” She sighed, then continued, “-- _make a bad choice_. Yeah. That works. But you’re not the only person around here with a good taste. That’s all.”

He didn’t think about this much as he was going home, as his imagination was still warmed by the Cube’s predictions, and the thought only crossed his mind later. _How much did Del know?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Zombie and Ala for beta reading and correcting my mistakes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack for this chapter  
> Boney M. - Rasputin  
> <https://youtu.be/aiSdTQ9DW9g>

****There hadn’t been any club meetings for a while, but Arden had other things on his mind to occupy him. He went back to studying piano basics in case Azura ever needed another lesson. Riv, his co-worker, and close friend, hadn’t been like himself at all, recently, acting like he was in a room full of strangers, even though he’d known these people for years, his skin ashen, like Grim Reaper themselves had touched him. Recently, however, he’d been feeling better (and using everyone’s names more often), even if he seemed a little sad about something. Eventually, they went back to singing dumb songs during breaks at work. It was during one such song that people Arden had never seen before entered the backstage with them.

It was, quite possibly, one of the _worst_ songs to be sung among people you didn’t know, and the two newcomers were dressed like they didn’t belong here. Sure, _Limelight_ required some formal clothing, but the two people who came in were dressed even better than that. Clearly, they were important. Or lost.

Both of them stopped singing, Riv, somewhat flustered, stayed behind, while Arden jumped off the stage and approached the two strangers.

“Hello! Can I help you? Are you looking for something?” he asked. The anxiety was working its way up his throat, but there was no one else around to help.

“Someone,” the smaller one corrected him and smiled warmly. She had kind blue eyes and dark brown hair, tied neatly into a ponytail. “We’re collecting some data on this place and the people who work here. Could we trouble you for a little interview?”

“Oh, no, no problem. Riv! Come here! These people want an interview with us.”

Riv looked a bit reluctant, but, after a moment, joined Arden on the couch opposite the two interviewers were using. After asking Arden his name, the small one did a little twitch with her lips and smiled. It made him slightly worried for a second; sometimes, his mind made a great deal of any slight changes in other people’s body language that could have meant, when it looked like they were bored of his talking. But the strangers just continued asking questions like nothing happened, and eventually, Arden relaxed and told them a great deal (since nobody was stopping him) about his workplace, as well as himself. Riv chipped in about some details too, but his mind would wander off after being asked some questions like he had trouble recalling them.

Eventually, the interviewers turned off their recorder, stood up, thanked them both for their time and left. How much time has passed? Arden wasn’t sure. With a dawning sense of horror, he realized he must have talked too much, like always. Did they get bored but were too polite to stop him?

“What did they want?” Riv’s question returned him back to reality.

“Oh! An interview.”

“Yeah, I get that much, but _what for_? Who do they work for?”

“I--I don’t know. I never asked. And they didn’t tell me.”

“Maybe they were looking for new members for some new club?” Riv suggested.

“Yeah. Maybe? They were dressed really good though. Too good for this place, I mean.”

Thinking back on it, it wasn’t such a bad interview, right? Arden kept thinking for the rest of the day, but one thought clawed at the back of his mind: if they were looking for people to interview, why did they only talk to the two of them?

\----------------------

“Congratulations!”

Until the moment Riv shouted that at him, Arden was having a quiet moment. Two days have passed since the interview, and he had too much on his mind to worry about how that turned out, too.

“Did something happen?” he asked tentatively. Something _always_ happened, usually not good.

“Huh, I thought you'd be the first to hear about it. Long story short, you just got promoted! My guess is that our boss read of that interview we did together and fell in love with it. Seriously, he couldn't stop raving about you.”

“Oh,” was all Arden could say. He’d been working his way to the next promotion for a while now, and at this point, started believing it’d never happen. “Do you want to celebrate later?”

“Sorry, I'm seeing _someone else_ tonight. We can totally meet up later, though.”

That complicated things a little. Del wasn’t working that day either, and he didn’t feel that close to any of this other co-workers.

His happiness hasn’t faded a few hours later when his shift ended, and he headed to the bar. Maybe someone he knew was here, and he could--

“Hey! Arden!”

He spun on the chair in the direction of his name and almost fell off it when he realized who was calling him. Eldrogan was sitting a booth, alone, waving at him. Looking around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else he could have called, Arden grabbed his drink, almost breaking his ankle on the chair, and joined his friend.

Half of what he did after he sat down at the bar and ordered his drink must have looked stupid to anyone watching, but Eldrogan didn’t seem to mind or didn’t notice. Was he watching? The thought made Arden blush. Even then, he felt he was radiating enough heat for anyone in close proximity to feel it. And Eldrogan was there. Very close.

“You look happy. Something good happen at work?” he asked, writing on his phone.

“Oh! It did, in fact. I got promoted!”

Eldrogan chuckled.

“It worked, then.”

Arden was about to take a sip of his drink, but the comment threw him off.

“What worked?”

“The interview you gave two days ago--” How did he know about _that_ ? Before Arden could inquire, Eldrogan put down his phone and continued, “--Those people work for me. I gave them the assignment to come here and interview you. Though I also told them to ask more people than just you, in case it looked suspicious, and they forgot about that. Probably because you _were_ the first person they met. Then I just made sure--” he waved his arm around like he was unsure of what to say, “that it looked as good as it possibly could, and kind of, uhh--” stumbling over words wasn’t at all like him, but Arden was too speechless to say something himself. “--kind of made sure your boss saw the piece. That’s all. Glad to see I could be of help.”

“Thank you,” was all Arden could manage at that moment.

“Don’t worry about it. I got tired of collecting favors and not giving anything in return.”

“It helped me, though. A lot. I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything, really. I’m just repaying the favor. It’s not like I did anything groundbreaking either, I just--nudged the work performance bar a little in the right direction. You did most of that work yourself.”

Arden was unused to so many things being said to him in such a short span of time and felt himself blushing furiously now.

“I did write something for your friend as well, in case you were wondering. Not sure how it affected his performance, though, but I’m sure it helped.”

That reminded Arden of something else.

“Did they--um, did the interviewers tell you everything about what--what was happening there?”

“What do you mean? Oh, you--” he started laughing and Arden’s worst fears were confirmed. “--You mean the song you were singing? Yeah, they did. I wish I could have been there to see that.”

“It’s-- _really bad_.”

“Can’t be that bad if you were having fun. Do you do that sort of thing often?”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Arden admitted sheepishly, his eyes fixed on the drink before him. “I think most of our co-workers are used to it by now, so it doesn’t bother them. But it’s um, probably a bit weird if you walk in on that not knowing what to expect. I imagine most people would have turned around and left, unless they were, um, hired. It would be-- _that_ bad.”

“Sorry, I can’t judge that unless I’ve seen it myself.”

Arden found himself staring at the man next to him. Was this an invitation? Surely not. Was he teasing then? His expression was too serious for that. Unless, like Del, he could joke with a straight face.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“Sorry,” Arden cast his gaze down back to his drink, and realized he still hadn’t touched it.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. And, I believe, the situation calls for a little celebration, no?”

“Yeah. that’s what I came here to do. I was hoping someone I know might be around, I just didn’t expect _you_.”

“Should I feel bad then?”

“No! It’s fine. I’m glad that um, you were here.”

“I was in the area,” Eldrogan shrugged. “And I did want to check if my plan worked out. Now, what would you like to drink? Same as what you have now, I suppose? And don’t worry about it, it’s my treat.”

“Thank you! What will you have then?”

“Just water. I’m driving today. I can give you a lift too if you like. Later, of course. Unless you want to go now.”

“No! We can stay here a while longer.”

They could just stay here like that forever, for all Arden knew. Sitting close to each other and talking about nice things, and getting more drunk.

“You’ve never done that before, then?” Arden asked.

“Done what? Randomly burst into a song while at work? No.”

“It wasn’t _random_ , we were on a break.”

“I have to ask, though. Is there just that one song, or are there more?”

“Of course there are more, it would be boring singing the same song every day.”

“Wait, you sing on breaks _every day_?”

“No! That’s not what I meant. We just do it sometimes. Probably rather often now that I think of it. But not every day! We’d be fired if we did that, I think.”

There was more teasing after that, and it wasn’t bad at all. Arden hasn’t laughed that much in a long time, and he wished this night would never end. It did, of course. Eldrogan stood up and said they should probably go home, then Arden waited outside while he paid the tab. Cold night air sobered him up a little. Just how much did he talk back there? Not too much, he hoped. He didn’t have much time to reflect on that because Eldrogan stepped out of the door and pointed to his car.

“Now, let’s get you home, shall we?”

Arden agreed. Among other things of more inappropriate nature, more than anything he just wanted to sleep.

The journey back was quiet. Arden felt they had talked enough for one evening and instead focused on looking out the front window. He would have preferred looking through the side window, but that way he could easily sneak glances at the person beside him. He had strong arms, and nice legs, and--

Maybe looking through the side window was a better idea after all.

“We’re here.”

Arden stepped out of the car and, to his surprise, Eldrogan did the same. He didn’t need to do that, _surely_.

“See you later, then,” he smiled.

“Yeah,” Arden nodded, feeling tired. Then, instead of a normal hug, he just sort of _fell_ into Eldrogan’s arms. Maybe he didn’t notice. That would have been awkward.

Even if he didn’t, Arden realized too late it lasted too long for a friendly hug and broke off immediately.

“Goodnight,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground, and walked back to his apartment without a backward glance, thinking of all the ways he could have ruined this evening. If he had looked outside, he could have noticed that the car that dropped him off didn’t leave immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Ala and Zombie for correcting my mistakes.
> 
> Riv and Arden were singing Rasputin except it was about Caleb.
> 
> Sometimes when I'm sad I like to imagine Eldrogan sitting in his serious chair behind a serious table asking "They were singing _what_ now?" with a serious face. The reason he got out of the car was, he expected to be invited but since Arden was drunk, he knew nothing _serious/romantic_ would have happened anyway, and taking advantage of drunk people is never ok.


	11. Chapter 11

**From: Del**   
**Club meeting at my house.**

Arden rubbed his eyes and stared at the message on his phone. It was sent two hours earlier. Was the meeting still happening? There weren’t any missed calls in his log, so maybe it wasn’t that important. Still, he was curious. He got out of bed and dressed rather hurriedly and went down to her apartment a few blocks away.

“You’re here!” Del called, after he knocked on her door a while later, and ushered him in. His worries about missing a big event turned out to be baseless. The only other person there was Azura, lying on the couch with one of her legs thrown casually on the backrest. She looked bored.

“Did I miss something?” Arden asked, tentatively. Maybe everyone else already left.

“No, not really. We actually haven’t progressed that much, we’ve been here since--when did we start?”

“3AM,” Azura mumbled. “We wanted to invite people earlier but almost everyone else here has a normal sleeping schedule so we decided to wait. Not like we got any better ideas at that time, though.”

“Ideas about what?”

“Riiiight,” Del sighed. “We’re trying to get rid of Cullen.”

That left him speechless for a while.

“Get rid of him? Why?”

“Why?” Azura laughed. “Have you met him? Though I suppose you haven’t actually had to talk to him for several hours like we did, but he’s bad. He doesn’t care for our club activities, and he doesn’t try to be _nice_ in any way, or agreeable. He’s just throwing words around like they’d have no impact. Or worse, he does it on purpose.”

“Oh. I see.”

He sat down in an armchair since there was no sitting room on the couch Azura occupied. It was true, he didn’t actually know Cullen _that_ closely.

“What have you come up with?”

Del stopped pacing around the room and looked back at him, fumbling with her hands nervously.

“Nothing so far. Have a pizza.”

“I don’t want your cold pizza. You’ve been here for what? Seven hours and haven’t come up with anything?”

“It’s not easy, okay? I’m not a people person,” Del scowled. “I’m out of ideas. I was hoping that inviting more club members could help us think of a plan.”

“Who else did you invite? Not Cullen, I guess.”

“Weeeeelllllll, Yuki was the only other member I invited.”

“What about Eldrogan?”

Del and Azura both looked at each other.

“Right,” Del said, like that explained things. “I don’t think he’s--the best person for this.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t like plans,” Azura chimed in. “Starting them, I mean. And think about it this way: if we do manage to pull this off, it’ll be a nice surprise for him!”

Arden didn’t like any of that, but he didn’t have a better offer. And getting rid of Cullen was probably the right thing to do.

“Ugh,” Del grunted, sinking into the second armchair. “I’m out of ideas. Maybe we can just leave a strongly-worded note on his car and go.”

“Maybe I can drink him while he’s laughing at your jokes,” Azura suggested.

“That’s a great idea! Oh wait, you were joking. Nevermind.”

She sank deeper into her armchair, looking bored.

There was a knock on the door and Del perked up at once, yelled “Yuki’s here!” and left to let her in. She returned shortly after with a mournful expression.

“Party’s over, guys.”

There was Yuki, and behind her-- _Eldrogan_. He looked like he was making up his mind whether to be angry or not.

“What--are you doing here?” he demanded. He also looked a bit scary at that moment.

“I’m sorry!” Yuki apologized, burying her face in her hands. “We were hanging out together when I got the message! I thought I should bring him too!”

Azura was still lying in her previous pose, her eyes wide as saucers.

“It’s me,” Del confessed, standing with her hands on hips. “I called these people here because we need to get rid of Cullen, and we need a plan on how to do it.”

“Why would you do such a thing?”

“Open your eyes, Golden Boy! He has no reason to be here other than annoy us. He’s not actually contributing anything positive to the club. Even Wolfgang has his qualities, though they are few and we rarely get to see them.

Eldrogan was standing opposite her with his arms crossed over his chest.

“And why did you not invite me then?”

“You told me you don’t like being involved in--what was it? Plans this early in motion.”

“Really? You sure it’s because of one time I said that, and not at least five other times you called me a stick in the mud?”

“Nope,” she answered confidently.

“How long have you even been here, thinking about this?”

“Since 3AM,” Azura answered from her couch. At least she wasn’t trying to hide behind cushions anymore.

“And still no plan?”

“Nope,” Del said, a little less confidently. “As you know, I’m not a people person.”

His mouth did a little twitch like he was still deciding what to do, and then--

He plopped down on the armchair Del previously occupied, and said, “Well, you clearly need someone who _is_ a people person. Like me.”

Del stared at him for a while; they all did, but nobody else looked like they wanted to punch him.

“Don’t you ever play with my feelings like that.”

“You said you had no feelings,” Eldrogan replied, taking a slice of leftover pizza.

“That is also true. Still, we don’t really have anything we can use against him. Does our esteemed leader have any ideas?”

“Call me that again and the first thing your esteemed leader does when he can, is kick you out of the club.”

The mood was cheerful; however, Arden was still feeling uncomfortable for no good reason. He wanted to go outside for a moment, but it wasn’t a good time to do it.

“And he does, as a matter of fact.” Eldrogan finished his slice, then took out his phone and called someone. “Hey, Cass, are you still at work? _Great_. I need you to do something for me. Can you look up Cullen Van Helsing and send me everything you find on him? Thank you. Yeah, I can wait.”

He put down his phone on the table. Azura was the first one to interrupt the silence that followed.

“I’m not gonna lie. That was impressive.”

“You sure that’s legal?” Del asked, doubt in her voice.

“If it’s posted on the internet, where everyone can find it, yeah, that’s legal,” Eldrogan replied, happily.

“This calls for a coffee,” Del decided, and with a swish of her braid, left for the kitchen. Arden used the break to get out to the balcony to get some fresh air and think.

The door opened again soon after and someone else stepped in.

“I don’t really want to talk right now,” Arden said, in case that’s what they wanted from him.

“I wasn’t going to do that,” he heard Eldrogan’s voice behind himself. “I just wanted to look at the horizon dramatically, and I can still do it while you’re here.”

Since he already stated he didn’t want to talk, there was no good way to begin a conversation. Luckily, he didn’t have to. Eldrogan spoke first.

“You were pretty quiet back there. Did something happen?”

“Not really. I just--I’m not sure how I feel about this _plan_.”

“There is no plan yet.”

“Yeah but--” There was no easy way to say this, but maybe Eldrogan would understand. “I know Del, which means her plan will likely work, but it won’t be uhhhh. Nice.” Not the best word, probably.

“I know what you mean.”

!!!

“Do you have any other suggestions for it, though?”

Arden did, in fact, but that hardly counted as a suggestion.

“Maybe _talk to him_? We can just ask him if he could leave first, after explaining the situation. Or at least try. That can’t be bad, right?”

“I agree.”

A smile crept up on Arden’s face that he couldn’t hide.

“Why are you here then?” he asked. He had a feeling there was more than just looking at the horizon dramatically.

“Because I’m boring, apparently.”

“That’s not true!” Arden protested. “I mean, you did agree to go with the plan. And there are more examples, I just can’t think of them at the moment.”

Did he really just say that out loud. Maybe he could just fling himself over the balcony now, that would be less suffering than saying that.

A brief smile appeared on Eldrogan’s face.

“I agreed because I was in the same room with four other people who thought it was the right choice. Three, if you didn’t like it. Though I suppose it’s what a leader should do, no?”

“Well, you should also consider what you want. Do you know what you want?”

“I do. I agree with you on that, though. I think we should talk to him first. And thank you.”

“What for?”

At least he didn’t fall off the balcony when he heard that. Baby steps.

“It helped me to talk about it with someone. Even if you didn’t want to talk.”

“Oh, no no, it’s fine. I like talking to you. I mean um. I was glad to help.”

There was the smile again! And it didn’t disappear this time.

“How do you do that?” Eldrogan asked. “Just talk to people and make them feel better with no effort.”

“I do? I don’t know, I don’t think I actually--maybe I just talk so much that they like _something_ from my--um, rambling.”

“There’s more to it than that.”

How could he answer that? Maybe he didn’t need to. Maybe he should stay silent for once.

They both had their hands on the railing. Maybe if he moved his just a little--

“COFFEE!” Del shouted, opening the door.

Arden flinched. If only it happened 5 seconds later.

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized, looking guilty. “Did I interrupt something?”

“We need to discuss something else before we start on your plan,” Eldrogan said, going back into her apartment. He didn’t answer her question.

“Did you get the stuff on Cullen?”

“Not yet. But we have something better. Coffee first, though.”

Arden burned his tongue, trying to drink his coffee fast, but everyone else took their time. He kept glancing at Eldrogan, trying to read his expression, but the Golden Knight looked content. And not chatty. Arden hoped he would present the new development himself, instead of asking him. Arden knew he was too nervous to do it himself.

“Before we start working on this plan of yours,” Eldrogan began after everyone had finished their coffee.

_Please don’t make me talk, please don’t make me talk._

“There’s something else we need to consider. We need to speak to Cullen and ask him to leave. If he doesn't-- _then_ I suppose we can do the um, plan. This plan.”

_Oh, thank Dave._

Del snorted.

“Have you ever actually _talked to him_ for more than two minutes? No, you haven’t! I have. There’s no talking, it’s just you and him and the thousand things that bother him.”

“I know I haven’t,” he smiled when he said that. “But Arden hasn’t either.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Del looked at Arden like a tasty morsel. It took a moment for him to realize what he meant.

“Wait, what? You want _me_ to convince Cullen?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Azura said. “You always know what to say and your face isn’t punchable.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you could make anyone angry by talking to them. We’re complete opposites in that regard,” Del added.

Some of what they said made sense. Is this what Eldrogan meant by making people feel better just by talking to them? And it was his suggestion. It wouldn’t hurt to ask just to make sure.

“Do you think I can do this?” he hoped his voice wasn’t too shaky.

“I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it.”

He smiled confidently like there was no way this part could go wrong. And Arden believed him.

“I’ll come too,” Del said. “Just in case. And maybe to take pictures.”

“Me too,” Eldrogan added. “I’d be a bad leader if I didn’t. And… other reasons.”

“Yuki and I can distract Wolfgang,” Azura suggested. “So he doesn’t interrupt your touching moment of truth.”

Arden had a lump in his throat. He wished he could express how grateful he was, but all he said was,

“Thank you. It means a lot to me that you’re willing to help.” It didn’t feel enough.

“Well,” Azura sighed, “It was our plan that we asked your help with. And it’s a group effort. Club effort. No, that’s even worse because it’s not all of the club. Of course, we’ll help you.”

There was no more time for sentimentalities because, at that moment, Eldrogan’s phone rang and checking it, he said,

“I got the articles about Cullen. And-- _holy fuck_.”

That was the least composed Arden’s ever seen him. Those articles must really be bad.

“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Azura encouraged.

“‘Windenburg man gets punched in the dick.’ Who wrote that? ‘By a woman from another dimension.’ Like that makes things better. ‘Windenburg man kidnaps scientist to make his cat immortal.’ For fuck’s sake, who publishes these.”

“Oh,” Del laughed. “It’s the article I wrote anonymously.” After everyone looked at her, she added, “forget I said anything. His cat is really weird, though.”

“Have you come up with something yet?” Eldrogan looked at her expectantly.

“We can wing it?”

“We are _not_ winging anything!”

“You’re right, we are going to _overprepare_ and then _act_ like we’re winging it.’

He sunk deeper into the armchair.

“Or, you punch him,” Del added, after a pause.

“I meant like a normal plan.”

“It is a normal plan! Do you expect me to just give you one on the spot? At least read me some more articles.”

“Did you anonymously write more of them?”

“No! I’m being serious, for once. Or you could just give me your phone so I can read them myself.”

“Not a chance.”

The mood has improved considerably. The only downside to it was, the only food here was cold pizza.

“Why? Afraid I’ll expose your secret love emails?”

“I don’t have any secret love emails.”

“Yeah, you probably send them by post,” Azura commented. “Even my uncle doesn’t do that, and he’s older than the internet.”

“I use messenger pigeons, actually.”

Everyone laughed. The articles were more or less ridiculous, and eventually, everyone pitched in some ideas, most of which made no sense but were fun. After several hours, _some_ semblance of a plan was devised, and Del was confident she could make it better after a couple of hours working alone on it.

“Though,” she told Eldrogan, when they were all leaving, “I think the best idea is still you punching him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Zombie and Ala for beta reading and correcting my mistakes.


	12. Chapter 12

“Are we missing anything?” Eldrogan asked.

The three of them were crouching behind a fence, waiting for Cullen to emerge. Azura had assured them she and Yuki would come up with something to distract Wolfgang.

“A theme song?” Arden suggested. He was feeling more confident than should be reasonable before talking to Cullen. And people were relying on him! Better not think of that part.

“He’s coming,” Del hissed, after checking behind the fence.

“Good,” Eldrogan rubbed his hands. “Do you remember what you have to say?”

“Stop pestering him, he’s not a child. He remembers it,” Del protested.

“Only because you couldn’t shut up about it in the car.”

“Because it’s my genius plan you wanted help with, of course, I get to boast about it.”

“Only when it’s done. Hey, Arden--oh, he’s gone.”

Growing weary of their bickering here and in the car while driving to the Von Haunt Estate, Arden decided to sneak out while they weren’t looking. He vaguely remembered the points they discussed that he should mention to Cullen. What were they again? Now wasn’t the time to worry. The pale, ramen-haired man was close now.

“Hey, Cullen.”

The man looked back at him disinterestedly.

“Hey. Who are you again?”

“I’m Arden. I’m from the same club.”

This wasn’t so bad.

“Oh. Right. I think I’ve seen you around here.”

“So!” Arden clapped his hands and assumed a cheerful tone. “How do you like it here at the club?”

“‘S okay.”

“What about the rest of what we do? Like chess?”

“Don’t really care about them,” Cullen answered, examining his nails.

“You know, there are people in here who  _ do _ care about that kind of thing. Maybe it would be better if um--”

Cullen looked at him and Arden became aware of every word that escaped his mouth, the way his arms moved, the way he had to crouch a little (he was taller than Cullen), and how intensely the ramen-haired man was looking at him.

“Better if what?”

“If you--”

What did Del write down on this? She had a whole page.

“--if you  _ left _ . You don’t seem to be interested in the club, or activities, and there are people who care about it. Maybe it’s best if you left it to people who like it here?”

He could have clapped himself on the back right there. He just said all that with Cullen staring at him and he didn’t stumble and finished his sentences.

“I see what’s happening.”

That should have been obvious.

“You have a crush on him.”

WHAT!

Arden couldn’t do more than stare back at Cullen, eyes wide. How did he--

How was  _ he _ the only one who noticed? Did everyone else notice too, then? Was he  _ that _ obvious?

Arden opened his mouth to speak, but no words escaped.

Did they all talk about it at some point? There he goes again, that Arden, looking like a moron. What an amusing tale.

“No--” he finally stammered. Unconvincingly.

“You had your eye on him ever since you came, didn’t you?”

IDIOT! He was the idiot again.

“I-I-I-- _ no _ .”

Not true, but Cullen couldn’t have known that. Could he? Who told him?

“Well, you should know, he doesn’t like you.”

StoptalkingstoptalkingstoptalkingstoptalkingstoptalkingNOW!

“You should know that Wolfgang doesn’t like you. He likes me.”

“I--wait,  _ what _ ?”

Wolfgang? Did Cullen think Arden liked Wolfgang?

This would have been funny if his anxiety hadn’t been ringing warning bells just seconds ago.

Taking a deep breath, Arden, chuckled uncomfortably and spoke with more confidence again, even though his heart was about to explode.

“No, no no no, you got it all wrong,” he attempted a smile, though it must have looked like a grimace. Not that it mattered. “I don’t like Wolfgang. I mean--I like him, but not  _ like that _ . Um.”

That was an even worse thing to say. Cullen looked like Arden had just insulted his whole family. If he was worried about that sort of thing.

“You don’t like him?”

“No! That’s not what I said. Not all of it.”

“Maybe _ you _ should leave the club here. If you don’t like the people who run it.”

“No! That’s not what I said! Would you listen to me for one second?”

His voice grew desperate, and Cullen picked up on that.

“It  _ is _ what you said, isn’t it? It’s that why you came here? To convince me with your pretty little words to leave?”

“NO! Please stop talking!”

Arden shut his eyes tight in an attempt to block Cullen from his mind, but even then, it was difficult. There was some yelling, and some insults thrown at him, he didn’t hear half of those. When he opened his eyes again, he realized the distance between him and Cullen was growing. Del was there, yelling at him, and Arden--he was being led away somewhere. He didn’t resist the slight pressure on his shoulders that made him sit down. There was a bench. Sitting was good. Next thing he saw was Eldrogan’s face.

“Arden! Are you okay?”

“I fucked up.”

He  _ thought _ he whispered that, but he couldn’t be sure. Maybe he actually yelled it.

“No, you didn’t. Look at me. Arden!”

His eyes were beautiful. And green.

It didn’t require that much concentration to focus on them.

“Would you believe me if I said it’s not your fault?”

What?

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t fuck up.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

Despite everything that happened, the words were reassuring. A loud noise behind them drew their attention. Cullen was shouting something, and Del stood her ground.

Eldrogan sighed.

“I--need to deal with that. Will you be okay for a couple of minutes?”

“Yeah.”

Arden looked down at his hands, which felt cold all of a sudden. It was like they were touching something warm just recently--were they holding hands while he was spaced out?

The thought did a better job at bringing him back to reality than anything else. There was shouting. Mostly from Cullen. Arden had to investigate. He stood up from the bench, happy with the fact his knees didn’t give in and came closer.

“I was just talking to him!” the ramen-haired man was yelling.

“Talking?” Del asked sarcastically. “You call that talking? The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr. Brain has long since departed.”

“Enough!”

Eldrogan certainly had a way to draw attention to himself. Apart from having red hair and usually being taller than everyone else in the room.

“I was just telling her--”

“You, shut up! You’ve talked enough for today.”

“Hey.” Del was standing at Arden’s side, smiling at him. She punched him on the shoulder lightly. That was the closest she ever came to hugs because she hated touching people. “Glad to see you’re okay.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

A few feet away, the argument was still ongoing.

“There’s no rule against me saying something rude to them, is there?”

Del snorted at Cullen’s remark.

Eldrogan hasn’t lost his composure yet.  _ How _ .

“I don’t know how to explain to you that you should care about other people!”

“I don’t care about them!”

“You know what? Nobody cares about you too. Maybe you should leave.”

“ _ Make me _ .”

Eldrogan thought for a moment. Then he punched Cullen in the face.

Del and Arden gasped at the same time. Neither of them was expecting that to happen.

Cullen staggered for a moment, regained his composure, and asked,

“What was that for?”

His nose and mouth were bloody.

“Maybe you shouldn’t threaten my friends.”

“ _ Screw you! _ ”

He attempted to punch Eldrogan, but the tall man was faster than that. He dodged Cullen easily, and then--a fight started.

It was difficult to see through the cloud of dust that surrounded them, and nobody dared to get closer, in case they got hit in the face themselves. The fight was over in a couple of minutes. Cullen was lying down on the ground, looking even worse than before. Eldrogan was breathing heavily and had a split lip, but he looked otherwise unharmed.

“You should leave. Now,” he said. His voice was composed, like nothing extraordinary has just happened.

Cullen didn’t need to be told twice.

“That was badass,” Del was the first to comment.

Eldrogan turned to them with a smile and flinched when his lip began to bleed.

“You think so?” Then he looked at Arden, and his gaze softened. “I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

Not the word he would have used, but it would do.

“Yeah. Me too.”

Someone’s footsteps drew their attention to the Estate.

“I can’t!” Yuki shouted. “We’re done talking to Wolfgang! I am soooo tired of his comments!”

Eldrogan was thinking about something.

“Good,” he said then. “I’m going to have a little chat with him. You stay here.”

“Are you saying what I think you are?” Del asked.

“I am.”

He smiled confidently. A trickle of blood ran down his chin and he licked it off.

“It’s time to talk to him about the club leadership. I--would prefer if I could do it without an audience.”

And he left.

“Well,” Del sighed. “That was something. Where’s Azura?”

“She ran off somewhere,” Yuki explained. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

She came back before Eldrogan did, looking smug.

“Where have you been?” Del inquired, her eyebrow raised.

“Just a little stroll.”

“You didn’t--catch Cullen and drain him of blood somewhere?”

Azura was quiet for a moment, then replied, “No. I wouldn’t do that.”

They didn’t have to wait long. Eldrogan was back shortly after, looking pleased with himself.

“Well?” Yuki was the first one to ask.

“Was there ever any doubt?”

The next few minutes were filled with clapping, congratulations, and hugs. Arden squeezed one in too, but it didn’t lessen the cold feeling he had in his stomach

_ Not now. Now’s not a good time _ .

It was never a good time for these things, and being among people was the worst possible scenario.

“Party at my house,” Eldrogan was saying. “Tomorrow, 8PM. I expect you all to be there. We should also invite a couple of people, it would be pretty sad with only the five of us.”

Then his eyes fell on Arden and his smile vanished. Did he look that bad already?

“Hey, are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” Arden lied. He knew he wasn’t convincing anyone.

It was difficult to concentrate, with so many eyes watching. Eldrogan was the most difficult to ignore.

_ Go away _ , Arden thought.  _ Leave me alone. It would be easier if you all just forgot about me. _

Why weren’t they going away?

Arden reached the bench he occupied earlier and sat down on it again, then crossed his arms on his knees and lowered his head. He could feel someone sitting down on the left side of him, but didn’t bother to check who it was.

“I’m not fine,” he mumbled then, unsure if anyone even heard him, but a hand appeared on his back, and he didn’t know if it was comforting or distracting.

“Do you need something?” Eldrogan asked somewhere to the left of him. So it was him sitting down here. Arden bit his lip.

“Did you hear what Cullen was saying?” he replied with another question.

“No. We were too far away to hear it.”

Someone else sat down on the other side of him, and something warm touched his hands. Raising his eyes, he realized Del was offering him a cup of tea, which he took gratefully.

“We should have come sooner,” she said, with sadness in her voice. “We only realized something bad was happening when Cullen started flailing his arms.”

“It’s my fault,” Eldrogan said decisively, which made Arden raise his head. “We shouldn’t have left you alone with him for so long.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Del protested. “You’ve never actually spoken to him. I should have known better, though.”

_ This was even worse _ . Everyone started comparing their flaws and speculating about what they could have done to stop Cullen from lashing out.

“Stop it!” Arden yelled. It wasn’t even that loud, but everyone fell silent and looked at him.

The warm tea in his hands made him a little livelier.

“There’s no point in blaming yourselves!” he continued. “It won’t solve anything and it won’t lead to anything good. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

“What about Cullen?” Del inquired.

“Cullen is a sad man with a sad life. Nobody should want to be like him.”

“How can he be so heartless?” Yuki asked.

“Some people are just bad, Pumpkin,” Azura answered.

Arden drank the rest of his lukewarm tea and instantly felt better. Sometimes these feelings just passed with no real effort, but he wanted to believe that being with these people helped a little. He stood up and threw the cup away. It was then everyone realized there was no point in hanging around any longer.

There wasn’t any need to change, as most of them haven’t even put on their armor today. Walking back to the car, he noticed Eldrogan was waiting for someone and shifted his stance when he saw Arden.

Arden approached him. For once, he wasn’t feeling nervous about it. The same couldn’t be said of Eldrogan, however.

“Will you be coming tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course. Wouldn’t miss it for anything. Your lip looks pretty bad.”

“Oh!”

He turned his head and got rid of the dried blood on it. It should have healed a while ago, but he must have kept chewing on it.

“You should bring someone special.” He was smiling again, even if it made him flinch a little.

“I don’t think--I  _ have _ anyone special.”

“What about your friend River? I could tell him about the interview. Unless you’ve talked about it already.”

“I think he likes parties. I’ll ask him. You’re not asking me to invite him because you expect us to get wasted and sing one of our stupid songs we do on breaks?”

“No,” Eldrogan answered innocently.

“Liar.”

Eldrogan smiled, sadly. It looked like there was something else he wanted to ask, but decided against it and turned back to his car.

“Did you want to say something else?” Arden inquired.

“Yeah,” Eldrogan admitted, “but I thought it might’ve been rude.”

“Now I’m interested.”

“What happened there,” he didn’t say  _ what _ exactly but pointed his finger in the direction of the bench. “Does it happen often?”

“Sometimes. Occasionally.” None of that was actually helpful, but it didn’t always have a schedule. “Does that bother you?”

“Bother me? I--I don’t know how to answer that. Of course, it bothers me, you’re under a lot of stress and it can’t be healthy.”

“I meant it like--” he felt suddenly tired and a bit lightheaded. “--Would you run away if it happened again?”

Eldrogan laughed.

“You really have to ask me that? Of course, I wouldn’t, who do you take me for?”

Del must have been sitting in the car already because at that moment she chose to announce:

“I know I take both of you for lazy butts! You should also remember one of you has a party to prepare for tomorrow and not a minute to waste!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a big thank you to Zombie and Ala for proof-reading this fic and correcting my mistakes.


	13. Chapter 13

“Wish he told us it would be a costume party  _ earlier _ ,” Del mumbled.

“What’s wrong with this one?” Arden asked, examining her outfit again. It was a dark gladiator armor. Maybe she had trouble driving the car with it? He turned his eyes off her legs and looked through his window again.

“Nothing’s wrong with it, except it was the only clean one I had.  _ Yours _ is normal.”

“Good normal or bad normal?”

Arden was wearing a pizza delivery-boy costume. He gave up on coming up with something better after half a day of searching.

“Good.”

“Should we get a pizza? I think it would go with my outfit.”

“That’s a great idea! You should have said so sooner. We’re going to be a little late now.”

She turned the car in the pizza direction.

“Sorry,” he said apologetically, looking down at his hands.

“It’s fine. What are you so worried about? It’s going to be great!”

There were so many things to be worried about. What if Eldrogan hates his costume? Or something bad happened? Bad things were  _ bound  _ to happen. There was no way to go back now. Maybe if he was driving and he convinced Del to leave--that wouldn’t work either, because they needed a mixologist. And Arden had to face his feelings. He would have to  _ make _ something happen. Maybe he should first make sure his legs would hold him.

The music was already playing when they pulled up at the Garlic Place. They both got out of the car; Arden’s heart was racing. It’s going to be okay, he kept thinking. It’s going to be okay. No time to fall apart now.

The door was opened by a tall figure in golden armor. He raised the visor and his face came into view. It was Eldrogan, of course, and he looked happy.

“Sorry we’re late,” Del apologized. “We stopped for pizza.” Then she looked up and down at his costume. “Did you take this armor from the Von Haunt Estate?”

“Of course not,” Eldrogan replied cheerfully. “I have my own set of armor at home.”

“Somehow, that’s not even the weirdest thing I know about you,” Del sighed and cast her eyes down. A dark cloud was hovering at her feet. Arden realized it was a dog.

He gave the pizza to the host and knelt down to pet the dog, which was happy to see the newcomers. Del seemed familiar with it. She bent to pat it on the head, then said, “Well, unlike you, fine gentlemen, I have work to do. Excuse me.”

The clinking of armor meant Eldrogan went back inside too, probably to put the pizza in a more appropriate place. The dog, a mixed German shepherd, seemed to have taken a shine to Arden. Or he exposed his belly to everyone visiting.

The sound of metal should have warned him Eldrogan had come back, but he was too busy playing with the dog to notice until his voice brought him back to the real world.

“You know, there’s more party in the back than just my dog.”

Arden stood up awkwardly, but relaxed when he realized Eldrogan was smiling at him.

“His name’s Wolf. The previous owner named him that, probably because of the gray patches of fur he has. I’m glad you could make it,” he added after Arden didn’t say anything.

“Yeah. So am I.” Brilliant. Also not a good time to remember he forgot to do his whole pizza-delivery boy routine.

If the Golden knight thought this was stupid, he didn’t show it. He just nodded his head in the direction of his house and went back inside. Arden stood up, his legs cramping from squatting, thinking that if he was the one wearing armor, he would have been far less graceful. Next step: walking into the house like a normal person.

_ Stop thinking about it!  _ He would have slapped himself if there weren’t any people around, but a few had already gathered. He spied a few familiar faces, but no one he knew by name. Del was already busy at the bar. He felt more at ease when more people have gathered and it was easier to blend in among them and strike a conversation without drawing too much attention to himself.

A couple of hours had passed. He had a conversation with Riv, exchanged a few words with Penny Pizzazz whom he’d only known from billboards in San Myshuno, and gotten a few drinks from Del, which gave him a much-needed boost for his self-esteem. Feeling braver than he had all day, he was talking to several people at once and didn’t at first hear someone calling his name. Turning on his heel, he realized it was Eldrogan, and all the breath he had in his lungs left him at once.

“Can I talk to you about something? In private,” the Golden knight asked. Was something wrong?

_ Private _ meant upstairs, which was off limits to the guests at the party. With each step he took, Arden expected his heart to jump out of his throat at any second, but it didn’t. Strangely enough, he felt less anxiety climbing those stairs than he had felt all day, leading to this moment. Whatever happened next, he wouldn’t fall apart.

As long as he didn’t overthink it.

There were two doors at the top of the stairs, and another flight of stairs leading up to the third floor. Eldrogan opened the door on the left and waited for Arden to go in first, followed him and closed the door behind himself.

It wasn’t a secret torture dungeon. Or room, since a dungeon wouldn’t be on the second floor. It was full of workout equipment, which  _ might _ have looked like torture to someone. He stopped looking around and faced Eldrogan, who had now taken his helmet off and was standing in the middle of the room, biting his lip.

“Before I say anything else,” he started, “it’s possible that I um,  _ misinterpreted _ something. I hope I didn’t. I--” he looked to the side, looking like he’d just realized something, and mumbled to himself, “I should have written this down.”

Could he be talking about-- No. Impossible.

Maybe.

“Anyway,” Eldrogan looked back at him with an expression Arden recognized. It looked like the one he saw in the mirror after he would try to give himself a pep-talk. “I wanted to say that-- _ I like you _ .”

Oh!

At that moment, time started going very slowly. He didn’t start freaking out like he was afraid he would.

Eldrogan looked like he had more to say, but Arden didn’t want to wait any longer and, standing on his tiptoes, kissed Eldrogan on the lips.

It didn’t last very long and he broke off quickly, stepping away and not finding any place for his hands.  _ What do people even do with their hands? _ Eldrogan didn’t look surprised, and flashed a quick smile, before saying,

“Yes, that’s what I was going to say, I mean--I mean do. I’m glad you agree.”

“‘I’m glad you agree’?” Arden repeated and laughed, and all the tension in the room was suddenly gone. “You sound like you’re writing an article.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m nervous.”

He was never  _ nervous _ . Arden has never seen him as much as even a little awkward, except for now.

“Anyway,” he continued, after taking a deep breath and looking like his usual self again, armor and serious expression, “I think we should repeat that. For… reasons.”

This time it was great, even if the breastplate was digging into Arden’s ribs. Eldrogan must have eaten a caramel apple shortly before that and his hair was really soft. They stopped after a while, after which he shuffled his feet, and said, looking down at the floor,

“I should get back to the party, to make sure it doesn’t fall apart without me.” When he raised his head, he was smiling again. “If you want, you can stay here after it’s over and we could talk more then.”

“Sure,” Arden agreed, nodding at the same time.

The Golden knight then took his hands in his and kissed them which made Arden weak in the knees, took his helmet, started walking out of the room, changed his mind, turned around, did the flamboyant wave knights sometimes did in films, making Arden laugh, and left the room.

Arden was alone, wondering how the hell did he not ruin this evening. His head still in the clouds, he headed downstairs, and before he knew it, plopped down on one of the chairs at the bar.

“So, it finally happened,” Del commented, pouring him a drink.

“Mm-hm.”

“How did it go then? Did he take you to his bedroom? I doubt it was as far as the third floor.”

“His workout room, actually.”

“Oh, that makes more sense. Pretty sure he spends more time there than sleeping.”

With a dawning realization, Arden turned to face her and asked,

“Wait, how did you know?”

“I work in a bar. I’ve seen people in all stages of falling in love. Heard most of them talk, too.”

“I thought you weren’t interested in romance.”

“For myself no.”

“When did you know?”

“About you? Ohhh, must have been the first time you saw him.”

Arden thought back to several months before.

“He was wearing a helmet.”

“Didn’t stop you, though. Anyway, I had a hunch then, but I  _ knew _ what was happening when he invited us to stay at his place for the night, and you played that song.”

“I--I still don’t understand. I--I  _ wasn’t singing _ .”

“Yeah, I know. But I’ve heard you play that song before. You knew the lyrics, and I wondered why you weren’t singing unless the lyrics were somehow inappropriate, and of course, lyrics to a love song  _ might _ be inappropriate if you didn’t want to make it sound like a love song.”

“Oh, shit. Was I that obvious?”

“I don’t know, not for me to tell. I don’t think you were, though. It was sweet.”

“You--you were helping me, weren’t you?”

Thinking about several things in the past, some of her actions made sense now.

“A little bit.”

“Did you know about Eldrogan, then? When did he--”

“He’s not the kind of person who falls in love easily. And it’s not like I was following you every time you went to have a private conversation. Maybe you should ask him?”

Arden’s feelings were a mess. Everything that had happened to this point, it was great. Marvelous. Yet he wasn’t sure what he felt about someone knowing what he thought he could hide. Del wasn’t the kind of person to talk about everyone’s secrets just for the shock of it, but the fact that she knew--well, maybe it wasn’t that unusual.

She was still talking.

“You shouldn’t feel bad. In case you do. I have no idea what you’re feeling right now. Do you want more to drink?”

He shook his head, and said, “And… thank you. I know that you were trying to help. I think it worked.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t go spreading that around, or people will start thinking I’m a kind person who likes her friends.”

Arden laughed and finished his drink. There was still plenty of time, and he spent that snacking on the expertly prepared food and listening to other people. As the hours passed and everyone became gradually more tired and drunk, he started feeling weary and decided to look for a quiet corner. The second floor was still off-limits, but there was a small room by the kitchen that nobody occupied, and he settled there. Wolf arrived soon too, to keep him company, and Arden allowed himself to relax while stroking his fur.

Soon, the guests started leaving and the buzz outside the room grew quieter. Several minutes later, Eldrogan stepped into the room, already out of his armor.

“I see Wolf has taken my spot,” he said, drawing a chair from the table and sitting down on it. “I’m glad you stayed here.”

“Why would I leave?” Arden asked, confused.

“I don’t know, I was afraid I had done something wrong without meaning to. And--you look  _ sad _ .”

Maybe sad was the right word, because Arden wasn’t sure what he was feeling. He was thinking, maybe it was the opposite, maybe it was  _ he _ who did something wrong, because it always happened, and everyone just pretended to be nice to him about it. Maybe--maybe--talking about it would be easier than thinking.

“I’ve just been talking,” he started, his voice barely a whisper, “to all these people at the party. You know most of them, no? And they’re all so interesting, and they know so many things, and it was a pleasure to meet them tonight, and--I wanted to ask you,  _ why me _ ?”

Why him with his insecurities, and awkwardness, and how he barely made sense most of the time, and anxiety, and--

“Do you want a list? I can give you a list.”

Despite himself, Arden laughed. Apparently, neither of them had forgotten that conversation.

“Okay, we can start with that,” Eldrogan continued, conversationally. “Your laughter. It’s very cute and it’s probably my favorite sound in the world right now.”

Arden, blushing furiously, buried his face in his hands, but he wasn’t done yet.

“Second, is the way you always want to help people, even without knowing what’s required of you. It’s like you jump in and then you ask, ‘Okay, what are we doing?’ You agreed to help me with my plan to become the leader of the club without knowing me all that well, you helped us talk Azura into it, without knowing anything about her, or vampires in general, and you had every reason to distrust them, you helped her learn the piano, and you had PIZZA today when nobody else brought any food.”

That wasn’t the end of his speech, nor Arden’s blushing.

“Third, is just how much you  _ know _ about everything. You know the maze layout in the Von Haunt estate, silly me for thinking nobody would even do that, you know the names of the stars and you can point them out, you play several instruments, and you can teach other people to play them, and you paint, and--”

“That’s enough,” Arden raised his hand. He was sure his face couldn’t get any redder.

“You’re sure? I have plenty of other points I wanted to make, but I suppose I can save them for later. And I didn’t need to write this down, in case you were wondering.”

Wolf left the couch and Eldrogan took the opportunity to sit down next to Arden and put his arms around his shoulders.

“I kind of was, yeah. You just sounded so-- _ fluent _ .”

“Well, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. It wasn’t--a sudden decision.”

“Yeah, Del mentioned that.”

“Del  _ did what now _ ?”

“Oh. Right. Forgot to mention. She knew I had a crush on you. Not sure about you, she just said that people like you don’t fall in love easily.”

“Well, that’s true, but how did she--no, wait, why am I surprised, of course, she’d know.”

Eldrogan sighed and put his head on Arden’s shoulder. In turn, Arden put his arms around him too.

“I didn’t prepare anything else to say,” Eldrogan spoke, after a while. “I was trying to come up with something, but--mostly I’m just tired. I woke up early today to prepare for this party.”

“I can leave if you want.”

“No, no, it’s fine, there’s plenty of room on my bed.”

_ His bed _ ?

He stood up, then waved at Arden to do the same. Arden complied, and then Eldrogan was kneeling for a second, and the next thing Arden knew, he was being carried over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he asked, laughing.

“What does it look like? I’m carrying you, I’m sorry if it’s not the way you imagined it would go.”

“I can see your butt from here.”

“That’s good, I have a nice butt.”

They went up the stairs, and Eldrogan opened the door on the right, which turned out to be his bedroom. Arden expected to be thrown on the bed like a sack of potatoes, but Eldrogan set him down with extreme gentleness and then plopped down beside him. Arden found his hand and squeezed it. After a while, Eldrogan rolled over him and they started kissing again, his hair tickling Arden’s cheeks.  That didn’t last long either, and he put his head on Arden’s chest and said,

“Nope, still tired.” Then he rose from the bed, took his shoes off, and said, “I think I’m just going to take a nap. Feel free to-- _ do anything _ .”

Then he lay down on the bed and turned to the window.

With all the excitement wearing off, Arden realized he was beginning to feel exhausted himself. Maybe a nap wasn’t such a bad idea. Turning to Eldrogan, he was going to tell that to him, but the Golden Knight was already asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Started this binch October 25, 2017 and finished April 15, 2018. Also it's currently the only thing I've finished writing in the last 10 years. I wish I could say that about something that isn't a shitty fic that started off as a joke (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧  
> A big thank you to Ala and Zombie for beta-reading and correcting my dumb mistakes and somehow not blocking me on discord.


End file.
